


Mise En Abyme

by samua5



Series: Life is Strange: Expanded Universe [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Ending, And Thats An Understatement, Bad Weather, Character Death, End of the World, F/F, F/M, Kidnapping, Murder, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rachel Amber Lives, Saving the World, Tags Are Hard, Time Travel, Visions in dreams, more people with powers, saving arcadia bay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-30
Updated: 2018-12-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 08:35:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 30
Words: 46,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12553496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/samua5/pseuds/samua5
Summary: Max can't bring herself to sacrifice Chloe, but she won't have to. A new character shows up with a different solution, and a secret. But just when everything seems fixed, something bigger is discovered.Max will need to piece together and work out the meaning of new visions and dreams, and team up with her friends, in order to prevent the world from being destroyed... Again.(FYI I can't write summaries)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first fic on this site. I have no idea how it all works so if anyone has any suggestions or tips that would be greatly appreciated. The first few chapters might be released every week but might not since I'm pretty lazy and will probably hit writers block after the second chapter. I'm only used to writing short chapters, I'll try to make them longer but if they're still too short let me know. Anyway I'll be skipping most of the scene on the cliff since everyone already knows what happens and I'm lazy. But if people don't know and to clarify what happened, here's a HYPER SPEED summary... Max, Chloe, Lighthouse, storm, butterfly photo, Chloe wants to be sacrificed to save the bay, Max wants Chloe, kisses her, Chloe steps back aaaannnnd, lights, camera, ACTION!!! (wait, does anyone even read these?)

Max stared at the photo, trying not to focus on it. She knew what she had to do, but she couldn't, she would be murdering the love of her life. Wait. Love of her life? Was is it too soon to be thinking that? Especially if she was going to murder her. _If_. She could just not do it. Sacrifice the bay. A load of strangers. Arcadia hadn't changed much in five years, but the people had. A lot of them for the worse. _But what about Kate? After stopping her from killing herself you're just going to murder her? And all your other friends? Joyce and David. It would destroy Chloe to lose her mother._ Right now David is probably with Jefferson. Max shuddered at the thought of him. David would've tied him up by now, if he hadn't been killed. Without Max there he would stay dead. If she could, Max would have continued crying, but she'd already used up all her tears. Not that anyone would notice with her being completely soaked by the rain.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as her heart skipped a beat. She didn't need to look to know that Chloe was staring at her. Max could feel it. Time to stop the internal monologue and do something. But what? She can't. But she has to. But...

 **Snap**. A twig broke behind them. Max and Chloe spun around to see who was there. There was a person standing not that far away from them, he was out of breath. Probably from running up the trail to the lighthouse. The boy, man, whatever, looked around their age, there was something familiar about him. He had short blonde hair, dark green eyes and he was somewhere between the height of Max and Chloe. "Who the fuck are you?" Chloe almost shouted, her voice shaking. From the cold. And the crying.

 "Nice to meet two other people with powers" He said, a faint British accent, "Names Alex by the way" He smiled. Instantly, Max was confused. Who would ever introduce themselves like that?

"I don't have any powers" Chloe argued.

Alex pointed to Max, "Yours have something to do with time," his finger moved over to Chloe, "and yours are to do with movement, you just haven't unlocked them yet"

"How did you.." Max trailed off, surprised at how he could guess her powers. She wanted to believe that he was just some crazy guy, but something at the back of her mind told her to go along with this. Like it was the right thing to. It had been way too long since she had had that feeling, so she decided to believe him, for now anyway.

"We have a connection," He explained, "you probably didn't notice it since you two have a strong connection from your-uuh, relationship. But now I'm here it should be easier to recognise it with me."

Max thought for a moment and focused on Alex. The familiarity. She began to feel it. It felt like she knew him. She thought about what his powers could be. Focused on what he could do. She began to feel strange. It was similar but also completely different to when she hugs Chloe. A warm feeling, she felt slightly safer. Like she was protected. "Does your power have something to do with protection?" Max asked.

Alex looked back at her and smiled, "Yes, I can make force fields. Shields. That's why I'm here." One of Max's eyebrows raised on instinct, she was intrigued.

"So you can save everyone?" Chloe asked, sounding very hopeful. She probably didn't even realise that it almost sounded desperate. Max's heart almost broke hearing it.

"Of course. But I need your help. Since..." He trailed of, looking at Chloe questioningly.

She looked back at him confused for a moment, "Oh! Yeah! I'm Chloe, this is Max!" She gestured to Max as she was introduced.

"Since Chloe hasn't got her powers yet, we're gonna have to bring them out first" Alex finished.

"How do we..?" Chloe was interrupted.

"Max, how did you gain your powers?" Alex asked.

How could she forget? She knew she'd still be having nightmares about it for a very long time. She hoped that whatever Alex planned to do worked, so she wouldn't have to murder Chloe and experience the bathroom again. "I watched Chloe get shot and reached out to her as she...sh.. She died" She explained, holding back a sob.

"Woah. I'm so sorry." He said, he looked to the side thinking, "So you could say your powers were triggered by your mind wanting, no, _needing_ to _undo_ what just happened. When I got my powers...

* * *

 

_Hey, you ok?" A cute girl asked, she was sitting next to Alex in his car._

_"Yeah, just tired" He replied, focusing on the road._

_Her two cousins sat in the back seats arguing, as always. They were on the motorway heading back from Scotland, just a short weekend away. The road was surprisingly empty for this time of day. A large lorry was heading down on the other side of the road, it began swerving from side to side. Alex looked at it in the distance, getting seriously concerned. Quickly glancing to his side revealed his girlfriend was looking like how he was feeling. The cab suddenly twisted sideways, flicking the trailer round. It bounced over the divider in the middle of the road separating from the cab, spinning out of control, and flying in front of the car. "SHIT" Alex shouted as he slammed on the brakes and reached out his hand towards the heavy trailer, quickly rolling towards them, filling their view. He **had** to save them, he **had** to **protect** them._

_There was a flash of green light as the trailer bounced off of a dark green Barrier surrounding the car. The car came to a stop, heavy breathing could be heard all around the vehicle.The trailer screeched to a halt behind them, scraping across the concrete. Alex lowered his hand, breathing heavily, still in shock. He turned to his girlfriend, looking at her pale face, and her eyes widened, further than they were already, "Alex. Your eyes!" Alex's eyes had gone from a blue/grey to the same dark green as the shield that saved their lives._

* * *

 

 

"Woah. That was hella awesome, but how does that get me my 'powers'?" Chloe asked, using air quotes and an obvious sarcastic tone. After Alex's explanation, Max began putting together the pieces. His powers appeared when he had to protect something, hers had appeared when she had to undo something. So it only made sense that Chloe's powers, if she did have any, would appear when she has to 'move' somewhere. Right?

"We just need to put you in a situation where your entire being will want nothing but for you to move somewhere?" Max said, starting to understand. At least she thought she was.

"Hmm" Alex thought, he took a few steps so he stood between the girls, looking out at the storm which was almost hitting the beach, he smiled, "Chloe, can you stand in front of me for a sec?" She quickly moved, facing him, with a confused look on her face, "Do you trust me?" He asked.

Max trusted him, she didn't know why. She knew Chloe would too. Something about him seemed like he was a good person. "Y-yes" Chloe replied.

Alex leaned forward slightly, placing his hands on her shoulders. His eyes closed for a moment. When he opened them he looked directly into Chloe's. Then he gave one strong push. Chloe's eyes widened as she slipped, falling back. Over the edge of the cliff.

_"Oh look, he's done it for you"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed that cliffhanger (get it?) please leave constructive criticism and let me know if there are any mistakes, or if you have any ideas on a plot/subplot that you'd like to see involved in this story. Leave kudos if you enjoyed it, and let me know if its a good idea to continue this or not. The device I'm going to be writing this on for the foreseeable future is crap, just letting you know that it is awkward with ao3, I had to rewrite the start of the chapter 4 times. So this will probably be as long as the chapters will get. I guess I'll be back next week. Maybe.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I'm back then. Due to my laziness and procrastination, I am getting a little ahead with the story. So hopefully when I run out of things to write about, I'll have more time to think about it. It might not make sense, but its because of homework. My mind hates me if I don't do anything productive so I put off homework and work on this instead. So good for you and bad for my education I guess. If I keep to weekly updates (hopefully), I will be updating anywhere between Monday night and Tuesday night, in my timezone anyway. Not sure how it works out around the world or if it changes anything. Is there a recommended time for updates? I know there is on Wattpad with when most people are online, I wasn't sure if there was anything like that here. I'll probably still ignore it anyway, but it'll be good to know, if I can update at the best time possible.

_"Oh look, he's done it for you"_

"CHLOE!" Max screamed as she reached out her hand to rewind, but she felt something stop it. Alex was holding her arm.

"Wait. Wait to see if it works before going back" He said to her, calmly.

 _If you hurt her, I swear to god I'll fucking kill you. Then I'll rewind and kill you again, until I can't rewind anymore._ Max couldn't bear the thought of losing Chloe, not after everything she did to save her. Max was ready to tear apart the space-time continuum to protect her. _"Yet you were just about to go back and kill her yourself"_ That voice again. It was too familiar, echoing around her mind. Like it was feeding off of her pain, fear and anger. It was her. The other Max. The one she met only a short while ago in a messed up dream. Great. Something else that was going to haunt her for a long time. _Wait. I'm supposed to be saving Chloe_. Max prepared herself to pull her arm from Alex's grip, until she looked up into his green eyes. Something about the look he was giving her made her feel like everything was going to be fine. _"But it isn't, it never will be. You may stop this storm, but you'll never stop the next one"_ Shut up! Just when she was about to start arguing back at herself she felt a tug on her arm. Alex had taken a step back, towards the edge. He was leaning over looking for something. Someone. Chloe. The only thing stopping Max from pushing Alex over the edge was the fact that he was still holding her wrist. If he went over, he'd pull her with him. Then she'd never be able to save Chloe.

"I think it worked!" Alex said, sounding too surprised to comfort Max. He stepped away from the edge, turning around, "There's nothing there, no evidence of Chloe falling"

But Max didn't hear the last part, she'd zoned out. Only now realising the familiar pressure on her wrist. Her breathing was starting to get difficult. It was only Alex. He was just holding her wrist. For whatever reason, that did little to comfort her. **Click.** The familiar sound of a camera. **Click. Click.** Fuck off Jeffershit. "How dare you Maxine! After you told me how much you loved being my perfect model." Max shuddered at the voice, her lungs aching almost as much as her heart, "The dark room will be ours...

 **Forever...** "

Max's legs were shaking, growing weaker by the second. "Max!" The voice pulled her back to reality. "Look!" Alex shouted from over near the lighthouse. When did he get over there? Max hadn't even noticed him let go of her wrist. She walked over to him, looking at where he was pointing. In the middle of the small area they were standing in, there was a small blue dot. A firefly? No. It wasn't moving, fixed in a single point. Max jumped slightly as it suddenly expanded into a line. It resembled a lightning bolt, not quite reaching the ground. The blue instantly reminded Max of Chloe's amazing hair, and her beautiful, perfect, dreamy eyes. Not again. Before she could get any more annoyed at herself for how in love she was, the line began to pulse. It started to open. It wasn't just a line, but a tear in reality itself. It opened up. Max wasn't sure what shocked her the most. The fact the she had just witnessed every law of physics being broken, _hypocrite_. The familiar sight on the other side of the... Portal? Or the way she found, how Chloe looked, was extremely attractive, maybe even slightly arousing.

On the other side of the portal stood a very alive, very angry looking Chloe. Behind her was a dark room, an American flag was visible on the wall behind Chloe, a bed sat beneath it. To the right, a desk with a laptop sat on top, random pieces of paper spread around it. Papers that were now flying around. Possibly due to the strong wind passing through from Max's side. Chloe stepped through, her arm outstretched. Eyes blue. No really. Not just the irises but the whole of her eyes had turned that same shade of blue. How was Max only now noticing it? Her eyes would've widened at seeing that, but they were already as wide as was humanly possible. She was blushing. But why? Oh. The eyes. Making the whole thing that bit more arousing. Dog Max, what's wrong with you? _"Yeah, you freak"_ Where did that come from? Chloe had lowered her arm, the portal was collapsing behind her. The blue in her eyes fading, retreating back to her irises. The anger on her face also fading, as the realisation finally hit her, replaced by a look of shock.

Chloe and Max, both opening their mouths to say something, were interrupted by Alex, "We haven't got a lot of time. I know there's a lot you want to talk about, with me and each other, but we can do that once everyone is safe. For now I need you to do as I say, don't worry, it might seem a little weird at first, but there won't be anymore life or death situations." Alex said, the seriousness in his tone was both comforting and frightening. But Max knew he was right, so she closed her mouth and nodded. Chloe doing the same shortly after.

They waited for him to say something as the pair watched Alex eyeing up the lighthouse. He was mumbling things to himself like, "This will do" and "Seems only right". Max could tell from the look on Chloe's face that she was annoyed and was about to make a snarky comment. She prepared herself to stop her, when Alex took a step back between them and cleared his throat, "Okay, so I'll need a boost to help maintain a shield this size, I'm gonna need you to grab my arms" he began explaining. Alex dropped to his knees in front of the lighthouse, reaching his hands out towards it. Max dropped to her knees next to him, instantly regretting it. She could feel her legs sinking into the wet mud. The uncomfortable cold, damp feeling reaching through her jeans.

"Fuck" Chloe whined, Max smiled as she remembered the holes in Chloe's jeans. They both placed a hand on his outstretched arms, one arm each. Max only now realising that Alex had pulled up the sleeves on his plain white shirt.

"Okay, now focus on your abilities, the feeling you get when you use them. Focus on the energy flowing from your soul, focus it into the hand on my arm and instead of releasing it to trigger your powers, channel it into me" He explained.

Max closed her eyes and focused on that feeling in the back of her head that only happened when she rewound. It grew, but didn't get painful. Another feeling started, a warmth in her heart, she focused on it. She willed it into her hand. Max could feel the energy moving through her body. She willed it into Alex's arm. When she opened her eyes, she almost jumped away. She could see wisps of red... Energy? Flowing down her wrist, into her hand and onto Alex's arm. Her red energy was joining Alex's green energy that was flowing down his arms. She could see the energy leaving his open hands, travelling through the air, to the lighthouse. The wisps of red and green flowing around each other through the air, were joined by another channel of energy, this one green and blue. Of course. If Chloe's energy could be any colour, what else could it possibly be?

Max has that feeling again, Chloe was looking at her. She turned her head to see Chloe's beaming smile looking back at her. Max could feel the warmth in her heart get stronger, her energy started to glow brighter and she blushed. Max smiled back at Chloe, instantly noticing similar things happening to her. Max couldn't possibly make Chloe feel that way. Could she? Before other Max could make another comment, or she starts looking stupid, or stares too long. Max looks away, deciding to look at Alex. She notices his eyes are closed and he has a strong look of concentration on his face. Suddenly his eyes open, the green irises glowing. The energy flowing out of his hands glows brighter and moves faster. Max looks over to the lighthouse as everything in their vicinity is tinted green.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave kudos if you like the story so far and comment if you want to say something about it. Again, I'm sorry about the length. If there are any mistakes or there's anything that triggers you, comment and I'll see if I can change it.  
> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and i guess I'll see you next week... Probably


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter published!  
> Just one more chapter and the storm is finally gone!

Max's jaw dropped as she looked at the lighthouse, the energy being channelled into it was now being released from the building, flowing into a transparent green shield. It was tinting the area around them green. The shield formed a skin that was a few centimetres away from the building, possibly being the strangest thing she's seen all week. She felt Alex's arm move slightly and tense. Max was about to look across at him to see if he was okay, but the shield started moving. It was growing as it moved away from the lighthouse, towards the storm. The shield continued past the cliff and over the bay. It stopped when the bottom reached the coast. It was still growing upwards, curving slightly over the small town. The storm hit it, Max felt a sudden strain on her heart, nothing too bad, but noticeable. Objects that had already been picked up, were now slamming into the shield and bouncing off. As the storm advanced, Max could see it travelling over the shield. It couldn't reach through it, Arcadia bay was safe. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and heard two more breaths, following after each other.

"Looks like we're going to be here for a while, since the storms not going any time soon. So we may as well as pass the time with conversation. As long as you both remember to keep channelling your energy. So, Chloe, what happened after you slipped off the cliff?" Alex said, smiling as he finished speaking. Max turned her attention to Chloe who was frowning.

"Yeah, 'slipped'..." Chloe replied, sarcastically, a slight smile forming on her lips, "As I fell, I just shut my eyes, praying to every god I know. I was just wishing to land on something soft. After a while I realised I wasn't falling anymore so I opened my eyes and I was on my bed. Then I just got so angry, I never realised that what just happened made no sense. I just wanted to get back here to push _you_ off" Chloe smiled, looking at Alex, "But seriously, thanks, for making me hella awesome"

"It was nothing, if anything you should be thanking gravity. It did do most of the work" Alex laughed, Chloe followed.

Max smiled, but didn't laugh. She was busy thinking. Why did Alex need to look at the lighthouse? Why did they have to put all their energy into it instead of straight into the shield? Well, since Alex invited them to talk... "Alex, how do your powers work?" She asked, the others both turned to look at her. Chloe raised an eyebrow, she was interested too, and she turned to look at Alex, as did Max.

"Well. Let's see. I channel my energy into a field, the more energy the stronger it is and the bigger I can make it. But with the amount of power needed to create something like that, I need a buffer. Putting my energy straight into a shield, means the shield is weak, and damage done to it bounces back through the stream of energy. So it bounces back directly into my soul or something, and it hurts like hell, would probably kill me if the damage was strong enough. Using an object as a buffer is better. My energy goes into an object where it can build up, energy is also amplified by the object for some reason. Damage done to the shield still rebounds, but it hits the object instead. The strain an object can take depends on the size and materials of the object, which affects how strong and big the shield can get. The bigger the object, the more energy it takes to get the shield started. Does that make sense?" Alex asked, glancing at the both of them, seeing their confused expressions.

"Uuh, yeah?" Max replied, piecing together the information.

"I couldn't help but overhear you talking to yourself, why'd you say _'it seems fitting'_ or whatever, when you were looking at the lighthouse?" Chloe asked, Max smiled at that. Chloe was almost getting as nosy as her. They really were a good bad influence on each other.

"Oh, I just thought it seems kind of poetic, the lighthouse projecting a shield across the bay. Since the purpose of the lighthouse is to save lives, provide a light to guide sailors through the shallow waters when visibility is low, when its foggy or when there's.." He looked over to the tornado, thundering against the shield, "a storm"

Something about that thought comforted Max, it helped her to finally relax, at least as much as she could, given the situation. "Nerd" She heard Chloe say, she was ready to tell her to play nice. But when Max turned to Chloe, she realised it was directed towards her. She must have had a weird look on her face as she was staring at the lighthouse.

"Dork" She countered, Alex shifted slightly, obviously getting a little uncomfortable sitting between them.

"You know, now I have superpowers too, we are officially partners in _space_ and time." Chloe said with a genuine smile, one that had been absent from her face for five years, until the week had started. Max smiled back, looking into Chloe's eyes. Max's heart fluttered, how does Chloe do this to her?

"Do you know what happened to your eyes?" Max asked, wondering if Chloe had even noticed.

She hadn't. Chloe's eyes widened, "What happened to my eyes? Did they disappear? Or am I missing one? Or... Wait, they didn't change colour did they? Like Alex's?" Chloe asked, slightly panicked at the idea of something happening to her eyes.

"No. They just... Went... Weird, when you used your powers. It was like one of those horror films where the demons eyes were completely black. Except it was blue." Alex tried to explain.

"So my eyes are completely blue now?" Chloe asked, clearly getting more panicked at this idea.

"No, they went back to normal after you stopped using your powers" Max said, Chloe visibly relaxed at this, "Right now they are completely normal. I kinda feel left out, something cool happened to both of your eyes with your powers. But nothing happened to mine."

Chloe sat up slightly, "I don't think that's true, I've been thinking about it and something does happen to your eyes. I always just thought it was a side effect of your power, but now I think it _is_ your power! Whenever I see you, just after you've rewound, your eyes are usually bloodshot. It always fades really quickly so I was never sure it was really happening. But since your energy is red, I think that's what it is." Chloe had a smug look on her face, like she'd just cracked a murder case.

Max smiled at her, realising what Chloe was saying. Max had never really been able to see her own eyes when rewinding, so it was entirely possible that her eyes did get bloodshot while she was doing it. "Now who's the nerd?" Max said with an evil grin.

Chloe didn't reply, but she did hear a quiet 'pfft' from her.

"Now you know how my powers work, could you tell me how yours work?" Alex asked, Max realised that he didn't know how their powers worked, he'd only been able to get a lose idea of them from their connection. But like when Max did it with Alex, he hadn't got anything more than a simple feeling.

"I'd be happy to explain how my powers work... Once I actually know for myself" Chloe responded, sarcastically as usual. But Max knew that Chloe knew that Alex was really just referring to Max's powers. Did Alex know that? Did he know that Chloe knew? Or that Max knew he knew she knew? She decided to stop that train of thought and began to explain her powers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to comment and leave kudos and all the other stuff. See you next week. With the end of the storm.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the kudos, it helps me want to write more and really makes me feel better about what I write. I really appreciate it! I know its not a high number but it makes me feel more confident knowing that at least a few people out there are enjoying this, so thanks.  
> Finally, the storm is about to be over and we can move onto the next part of the story. This is the longest chapter yet, so enjoy, I guess.

After Max explained her powers, they had talked about other things. It was mostly just Max and Chloe talking about their week, and their past together. But Alex did say a few things, like that he and his girlfriend had broken up, but only after serious probing from Chloe. Max could tell that they were going to become good friends. They had been sitting in silence now for a few moments. Max was looking to the side, watching the storm, still going strong. It was about halfway over Arcadia, it looked almost funny with how the shield had raised it off the ground. The bottom of the tornado levitating several metres above the rooves of the houses below. Max felt Alex's arm shudder as he exhaled shakily, she looked over to him. His head was lowered, staring at the ground, and his arms were getting lower. Max was concerned, so she gripped his arm tighter and raised it slightly. This made her realise how drained of energy she was. Max struggled to keep both of their arms raised. "Alex?" She said trying to get his attention. Max saw Chloe start to shift slightly in the corner of her eye, she looked up to see that Chloe had moved closer to Alex and rested his arm over her shoulder. Max decided to do the same, she struggled to shuffle closer since her legs were almost completely submerged in the mud.

The green energy flowing from Alex had started to fade, but the shield was still going strong. The more his energy faded, the more Max could see patches of red and blue in the shield. She hoped that if he stopped putting his own energy into the shield, Alex would still be able to maintain it using her and Chloe's energy. The patches in the shield continued to grow, Max turned back to Alex just in time to see his head drop further. Something other than rain was dropping to the ground beneath his face. Max reached out her other arm, which took a lot of effort, and raised his head up by the chin. She heard Chloe gasp at the sight. The glow in his eyes was still present, but faded, his eyelids were half shut. The bottom of his face was covered in blood, it was pouring from his nose, running down over his lips and down his chin. And now it was running down Max's hand. But she wasn't bothered by it, she was more concerned by the state her new friend was in.

"Hey, you should make the shield smaller, you said it takes less energy right?" Chloe said, leaning in to his ear, making sure he heard.

"But...th-the...p-peep...hurt" Alex tried to make an argument, but he had practically lost the ability to speak.

"I know you don't want anyone to get hurt, but can't you shrink the shield to the area around the storm? Some stuff will probably still be thrown around and break things, but it wont kill anyone." Chloe explained her point again.

"You can't keep this up for much longer, when you can't keep up the shield anymore, people _will_ get killed." Max said, making another argument, this one had to convince him. He looked like he was in pain, Max was certain he wouldn't last much longer, she was hoping he'd at least pass out before it killed him.

His head slowly moved in a weak nod, the shield began to shrink. The part that was still over the coastline faded away, the borders of the shield collapsed around the storm, now only covering a fraction of the area, but glowing brighter. The blue and red patches were still present, but smaller. Max's hand that was holding Alex's chin dropped to the ground, this was taking a lot of energy out of her. She winced, the feeling in the back of her head had grown to a migraine. "C-Chloe," she had to say something, she knew she wouldn't last much longer, "I can't...not l-long" Max couldn't say anything else, she barely had enough energy to keep her eyes open.

"M-Max?" Chloe said, her voice was almost as strained as Max's.

_"Welcome back Max"_

 

* * *

 

"M-Max?" Chloe said, it was difficult to just say her name, so she decided to give up on attempting to form a full sentence. It was hard for her to see Max in pain like this, but they had to keep going, they had to save everyone. Both her best friend and her new friend were completely drained, they could barely sit straight. Why were they so drained? Chloe was weak too, but not the same as the others were, she could still somewhat move. She looked at the storm, it was almost over the bay, not much longer. Only a few more minutes, she looked over at Max and Alex, they were barely conscious. Would they even last that long?

The answer to that question, which Chloe soon found out, was no. No they wouldn't. **Thud**. The pain in her head and her heart suddenly grew to an unbearable pain, she groaned. Alex made an uncomfortable sound as well. Chloe looked over to where the sound came from, her heart almost stopped. Max had collapsed and was lying on the floor unconscious, she had fallen to the side and was lying on her back. Eyes closed and blood pouring from her nose. Her chest rising and falling. Still breathing. Thank fuck. The sight was destroying Chloe, knowing that she could've stopped this, all because she was selfish. Because she didn't want to die. Because she wanted to spend more time with Max.

Chloe's attention was drawn to the lighthouse as the area around them darkened. **Thud**. The shield was gone, the green, red and blue lights disappeared. Leaving Chloe alone in the darkness. She looked to Alex, who had also collapsed, landing on his back. Yup. Alone. Again. Like always. She struggled to stand up, her legs caked in mud. She waddled closer to the cliff to look at the storm. With the shield gone it had started to do serious damage. It had already passed over the bay, but now it was tearing through the woods behind the buildings. Trees were being thrown in every direction, including directly into the previously untouched homes. But it was nothing compared to the kind of devastation the full force of the storm, without the protection of a shield, would've caused. There was nothing more they could do for Arcadia.

Chloe looked over her shoulder, even unconscious covered in mud, rain and blood, she still looked so beautiful. She thought back to the kiss. It was a while ago now, but she could still feel it on her lips. But what did it mean? Did Max really like her? Did she like her in _that_ way? Or was Max just trying to prove to herself that she wasn't chickenshit anymore, like a confidence boost or something before she went back and let Chloe die. Chloe decided to ignore these questions when she noticed Max was shivering. They were done here, there was no point in Max freezing her cute little ass off. Chloe walked over to her, it was easier now, the rain had helped wash most of the mud from her jeans. She leaned over and picked Max up, one arm under her knees, the other under her back. It was a lot more difficult than before, since she barely had any energy. But luckily, Max was very light. On the slow walk down to her truck, Chloe found herself staring at Max's lips. She was thinking about the two times she kissed those lips. Maybe more if Max had rewound the first time. _Hmmm_. That would be how she did it. She'd ask about that to start the conversation, then she would go from there. But what if Max didn't like her like that? She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts.

Chloe somehow managed to open the door to the truck with her foot. Luckily, she'd left it unlocked in the rush to get up to the lighthouse. She lay Max across the seat, making sure she was in a somewhat comfortable position. She went around and got in the drivers seat, she put the keys in and turned on the heater. She glanced in one of the mirrors, showing her an expensive looking BMW parked behind. Of course Alex had hella cash. Just another rich douchebag. And she was friends with him. Chloe smiled. Thinking of all the ways she could take advantage of this. Then her smile dropped. She'd abandoned him without a second thought. She was too concerned with Max to realise she'd left him behind. _How am I supposed to convince him to give me all his money if I just leave him alone, unconscious in the freezing cold and rain?_ Chloe jumped out the truck and sprinted back up the path. As she ran, she found herself looking over her shoulder, hoping Max would be okay.

When she arrived at the top, Alex was just waking up. _Great, he will remember me helping him_. She helped him get up and threw one of his arms over her shoulder. They walked back to his car, he got in and they exchanged numbers. Now she could ask to borrow some cash at any time. But he didn't last long and he passed out again, at the wheel.

Chloe hopped into her truck, it was comfortably warm by now. She rested Max's head on her lap. She may be short but there still wasn't enough room for her to lay across the seats without taking up Chloe's space. She used her sleeve to wipe the blood and rain from Max's face. Then she began to drive them back home, they obviously needed rest. And lots of it. Chloe glanced at the clock, it was 2 am. She yawned, almost forgetting to swerve around a fallen tree. Maybe this drive was going to be more difficult than she thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked this one. Please leave kudos and comment and stuff. Thanks for reading!  
> The next chapter is already done and is one of my favourites so far, so hopefully you're looking forward to next week and no more storm! For now anyway.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems we have another 'longest chapter yet' I'm not sure if its even noticeable since they are all pretty short anyway. But I'm tempted to balance it out with a three sentence chapter next week ;)

Max's eyes shot open, she glanced around her. She was in the diner, sitting in her and Chloe's booth. There was nobody else there. What happened? Max turned to look out the window. She froze. Everything outside had been destroyed, the buildings levelled, cars thrown around and dead bodies scattered the floor. Some of them being too familiar. Warren. Joyce. Alyssa. Kate. Frank. "But we saved everyone." Max muttered to herself, "We protected the bay."

There was a sound across from her. Max jumped when she saw Chloe was sitting there. Where did she come from? When did she get there? "Sorry Max, we didn't save everyone," Chloe began to explain, her voice sounding a little wrong, but Max didn't notice, "We got close but then you ran out of energy and died, so the shield collapsed, and the storm got kinda angry and destroyed everything."

"W-wait, I'm dead!?" Max exclaimed, now getting even more panicked. When did she die? Where is she now?

"Yes. No. Kinda." Chloe said, Max gave her a confused look, causing her to explain further, "You used up all your energy, so your mind gave up. Your body is still alive, but you're brain dead."

Max had lost the ability to speak, brain dead? Then how was she still thinking? "B-but.. I-I'm, how?" Was all Max could say, heart racing.

Chloe smiled, it was just how she always did, but somehow looked slightly sinister. "It has something to do with your rewind. You lost your power, so your mind rewound to a blank slate. Max Caulfield is now an empty shell, lying next to a dead Alex and unconscious Chloe. Yup. You killed Alex." Max was shaking now, she was dead. And instead of saving everyone, she'd taken them all with her. Her breathing was steadily increasing, getting shakier. Why did she have to fuck it all up again? At least Chloe was okay, right? Max looked up at her, she looked fine, but she seemed a little off. _You've got what you wanted now, Max. Let everyone die for Chloe. You could have saved them all, if only you had just murdered Chloe. It's all your fault. You are a mass murderer. No better than Jefferson. You deserve to spend an eternity in the dark room with him._

Max was now crying, her head in her hands, her entire body shaking. She was brought out of her thoughts by Chloe. She was laughing, hysterically. Max's heart broke at the sound of Chloe enjoying her pain. She looked up, but all she saw was Max looking back at her. Other Max. Of course. She should've known. Rage built inside of her at the sight of whatever this _thing_ was. Max was no longer crying, she was angry. She glared at other Max. "Woah. Calm down, at least I didn't lie to you" Max said, still smiling.

Max didn't care anymore, true or not, she was pissed. Max dived over the booth, she grabbed an empty plate that was sitting in the middle of the table next to a few other items, and smashed it over other Max's head. Her smile disappeared. Her face was changing. Her hair was getting shorter and she was getting taller. Max blinked, when her eyes opened, other Max had morphed into Jefferson. Max's heart stopped when she saw him, glaring back at her. She shrank back in her seat, instantly regretting lashing out. Jefferson pulled a camera out of nowhere, raised it to his eye and... **Click**. The flash blinding Max, when her vision cleared she realised she was in the dark room again. Tied to the chair, Jefferson standing over her, grinning. Something was off. Max noticed a few strands of blonde hair on her shoulder. _What is going on?_ A few more strands of blonde hair being blown into her face by a small breeze. Before she could look into it any further, there was another bright flash, Jefferson was waving his camera around. After a few more flashes, her vision went white. When it cleared, she was somewhere else. It was dark, she was outside. Max looked around, it was difficult to move. She was sat in a corner surrounded by walls and a metal fence. In front she could see a road, her view slightly obstructed by a building. It looked familiar. Everything around her was suddenly lit up by a strange glow, she found herself involuntarily reaching her arm up to the sky. Her gaze following her open hand, wrinkled, boney hand. She saw a transparent green dome forming above her. She noticed some red and blue flashes appearing occasionally. Another blinding flash.

Max found herself back in the photography classroom, it was eerily silent. It looked like a typical lesson. Jefferson at the front smiling, everyone else watching him. A shiver went up Max's spine as she looked at Jefferson's creepy smile. Nobody was moving. _Is time frozen?_ She shivered again. Everything was too creepy, she was going insane. Everyone's heads started turning. Slowly and smoothly, everyone turned to look at Max. To glare at her. "How could you Max?" She turned her head to the left, to where the voice came from. It was victoria, but she was different. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot, she'd been crying, "You could have saved me Max. You could have stopped Mark, or warned me. I would have lived." As she looked closer Max noticed a small red dot on Victoria's neck. _Shit. Jefferson still got to her. I should have said something to her or texted her._

"Thanks a lot Max. You stopped me from killing myself, just so you could do it yourself." She looked to her other side to see Kate, "I won't give you the satisfaction" Kate stood up, everyone else did as well. Then the room was empty. Everyone just disappeared. Max let out a shaky sigh of relief, she wasn't sure she'd be able to last much longer. Where was she? What was she doing here? How does she get out? What did Kate mean by not giving her the satisfaction? **Crack**. Max flinched at the sound. It came from outside the window, her heart rate quickened as she went over to investigate. Her heart instantly stopping as she saw the corpse. Lying just in front of the window, it was clearly Kate. _Oh, right, not giving me the satisfaction of killing her_. **Crack**. Max flinched again, another corpse was now lying on the concrete path. Victoria. **Crack**. Max gasped as she saw two more bodies fall. Courtney and Taylor. **Crack**. **Crack**. **Crack**. Very soon, her whole class had joined the heap of bodies. Tears now streaming down her cheeks. _What's going on? Why am I being tortured like this?_

There was a sound behind her. Laughter. Again. _Fuck this_. She turned to see Jeffershit sitting on the desk nearby, watching her. She'd had enough of this torture, it was just a fucked up time travel nightmare. A time-mare. This was all in her head. She was the one with control. Max charged at Jefferson. His smile fell into a frown as his eyes widened, obviously not expecting this kind of reaction. She was just nanometers from reaching him when there was another flash. She was in the dark room again. Attached to the chair, Jefferson grinning at her again. She looked at the floor to see it littered with bodies. Victoria. Kate. _Chloe? Rachel?_ Max felt herself getting angrier, why? Why did _it_ have to show her all this? She couldn't let it get to her, but it did. The room began to shake, Jefferson took a few steps back. Fear evident on his face. Max smiled, she was going to give him what he deserved. The chair she was sat on released her, she stood up. The chair behind her melted, the fluid travelled through the air to her hands. It then morphed into her camera, she looked up at Jeffershit as she raised the camera. He was frozen still, at least until she took the first photo. He groaned in pain and fell to his knees. **Click**. **Click**. **Click**. She kept going, the more pictures she took the more Jefferson collapsed, now almost screaming in agony wincing at every flash. There was a sound beside her. She looked over to see the corpses had come back to life. The four girls were now standing beside her glaring at the evil monster before them. Chloe leaned into Max, she reached behind her and pulled out a cold, metal object and placed it in Max's hands. The camera was now gone, but she didn't care. Max was more concerned with the gun in her hands. She admitted that she had enjoyed torturing him, but killing him? That was too far. Right? But it _was_ just a dream. And the bastard deserved it anyway. She raised the gun in her hands, " **Fuck you!** " She screamed, squeezing the trigger.

Max was shaking, before she realised it, she had emptied the clip into Jefferson's face. She was crying, she had only just realised, and she was shaking. What did she do? Now she really was a murderer. Why didn't she stop after the first shot? Why _couldn't_ she stop before she heard the gun click? There were suddenly arms around her as she was pulled into a familiar embrace. The gun had now also evaporated. She rested her head on a familiar shoulder. "I love you, Chloe Price" she said, almost whispering.

"It's okay, you did the right thing. Nothing to worry about. This is all in your head." Chloe was whispering into her ear.

Max looked up at her, she was so beautiful. Then she realised they were at the lighthouse again. _This dream is confusing_. "What's going on?" She asked, looking into Chloe's mesmerising eyes.

Chloe smiled at her, "This is all in your head. What you just shot? I think you called it, _other Max_. It was the manifestation of all your self-doubt and regrets, all of the negative feelings you've had since you got your powers. Well, it _was_. But you killed it. It's gone now, it's not holding you back anymore. Well, I'm not saying its cured all your anxiety 'cause it hasn't. But this thing isn't holding you back anymore. Now you can start really using your powers, with it gone, your gonna get more powerful. But don't just start using your powers all the time, not until I've explained how it all works, but that's for another time. For now, you should revel in your slightly higher confidence. Maybe even use it with someone other than yourself, say what you just said to me to the real Chloe!" Chloe winked as she took a few steps away, "Good luck" She winked again, before disappearing in a flash of blue light. A portal.

What did that mean? Was Chloe telling Max to make a move on her? Wait. _Max_ was telling Max to make a move on her. This was in her head. The world around her faded away. Her head felt like it was against something soft, suddenly she was lying down. She heard the familiar sound of an unhealthy engine, groaning in the background. She felt everything around her jerk suddenly, then the comforting hum of the engine faded away.

"Max? We're here. Please don't make me carry you up."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. This chapter ended up being a lot longer than I expected. Half of it was supposed to be after Max woke up. But I guess that will be for next week then. Hope you enjoyed the time-mare, Thanks for reading. Feel free to leave kudos, comments and stuff.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the three sentence chapter I promised last week, with a few extra bonus sentences ;)  
> Early update since I'm busy with Christmas stuff.

Max's eyes blinked open, she smiled as she saw Chloe's concerned face looking down at her. She sighed, very comfortable and very tired. Chloe smiled back at her. Max shivered, it was because of a few things, Max was still trying to process her weird dream, the way Chloe was looking at her and the fact that she was still wearing damp clothes. Chloe was running her fingers through Max's hair, she could've laid there forever, but she couldn't. Chloe's hand slipped to holding her shoulder as Max sat up. She looked out the window, it had stopped raining. Max looked to the side to see a familiar grey house. Grey? Right, it was dark, the power was out since the streetlights were all off. But it was still instantly recognisable. Chloe's house. She shivered again. "C'mon, lets get you out of those clothes before you freeze" Chloe said, with a soothing voice.

For some reason that comment made Max blush, she tried to hide it by turning to the side and nodding as she opened the door. She rushed over to the front of the house. Chloe met her at the front door and they entered together. It was pitch black inside, but it wasn't much darker than it was outside. Max shut the door behind her and turned to see Chloe attempt to flick on the lights. Nothing happened. "Shit. Well, duh" Chloe muttered to herself, causing Max to giggle, "What?" Chloe said as she spun on her heels to face Max. Upon seeing her face, Chloe's frown grew into a fond smile. They stood for a few minutes, taking in every detail of each others faces. _I should say something, she needs to know how I feel about her, she **has** to know tonight._ Chloe looked like she was about to say something, her mouth opening and closing, attempting to form words, instead eventually forming a long yawn. This reminded Max of how tired she was. The dream had done nothing to give her energy, other than drain it further. She yawned as well. It seemed they both silently acknowledged that whatever that moment was, it was over. The girls made their way to Chloe's room, an awkward silence hanging over them.

Before Max knew it, an oversized black band t-shirt and a pair of loose shorts had been placed in her arms and she made her way to the bathroom to change. It was hard to see anything in the darkness so she decided to skip on brushing her teeth tonight. Once she had changed, Max leaned on the sink, looking at her shadowy reflection. She splashed water on her face and began muttering to herself. "You can do it Max. She obviously knows anyway. And she obviously likes you too", this still did nothing to stop her worrying. Thanks to her dream, she couldn't stop thinking about Rachel. What if Chloe was still dealing with that? Would Max be doing the right thing by bringing this up so soon? Would Chloe hate her for it? Max forced herself to stop thinking about it when she realised her breathing was getting shakier.

* * *

Max re-entered the bedroom. It was still a mess, they'd clean it up tomorrow. The paper was still all over the place, but Chloe had cleared the bed and changed out of her damp clothes. She was wearing a light, plain t-shirt and shorts, similar to what she had given Max. Chloe sat on the opposite side of the bed facing away from her. Max went over and sat next to Chloe, they turned to look at each other, getting lost in each others eyes again, "M-Max," Chloe began to say, Max noticed how cute she was when she was nervous. Wait. Nervous? Now Max was nervous. "Remember earlier in the week, when I dared you to kiss me?"

Max's heart was racing, she could only nod in response. How could she forget?

"Well... H-how many times did you rewind?" Chloe asked, Max's breath hitched. _Shit_. How did she know?

"How did you-?" Her voice cut off, unable to complete the question.

A blush formed on Max's face as Chloe's nervous look turned into a sly grin. Chloe hadn't known, she'd tricked her into admitting she had. She had rewound, she wanted to make sure she took Chloe's breath away. So she had a few practice runs to get the technique down since Max wasn't good at this kind of stuff. She had four practice runs, the fifth attempt had gone perfectly, so she had chosen to keep that one.

Max sighed, she may as well as answer the question, "F-five" She managed to say, "S-sorry, I-I shouldn't ha-" Max tried to mumble an apology for effectively taking advantage of Chloe, but she was cut short by Chloe's finger on her lips. At some point they had turned to face each other, sitting on the bed.

"M-Max, I-I... Fuck, I mean I-I'm in... Shit... Y-you a-are, I'm so, w-with y-you" Chloe looked angry at herself for not being able to say it. But Max's heart still fluttered at her every attempt.

Before even thinking about it she leaned forward slightly and whispered a response, "Me t-too", when she realised what she said she felt her entire face go bright red from the embarrassment, but seeing the goofy smile on Chloe's face was worth it.

She looked closer at that beautiful smile, when did her lips get so close? She looked up into Chloe's eyes, realising that she was staring at her lips. Chloe looked up to meet Max's gaze, desire was etched into her irises themselves. Max couldn't look away, as they continued to get closer. _Holy shit, Chloe looks so hot in this light. Well, absence of light anyway_. Chloe's eyes closed, Max instinctively closed her own in response. Their lips met each others. Max's mind went blank, focusing entirely on what Chloe was doing to her and realising that the distance between them was still too great. She shuffled closer, until their hips were touching. Chloe began to run her hand through Max's hair, her other hand going around her waist. Max put her arms around Chloe, pulling their bodies completely together. Their kiss was never broken. Max loved the feeling of Chloe's lips against hers. She loved everything about her. Max loved Chloe. At this moment Max promised herself that she would never leave Chloe's side again. Max felt her lungs ache, she needed air. She opened her eyes to see Chloe looking back at her. They reluctantly pulled away from each other, panting, still holding each other close.

"Wowser" Chloe said, her eyes widened, "Oh dog-", she removed her hand from the back of Max's head to clamp it over her mouth, "I did not just say that!" She exclaimed through her hand.

This caused Max to giggle, "You're hella cute-" Max clamped her hands to her mouth as well.

Both stared at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter. They leaned into each other, as they struggled to breathe. Both of them slowly fell backwards, completely drained of energy. Max and Chloe cuddled into each other as they passed out after laughing away the last of their energy. Falling into the deepest sleep either of them had had since the start of the week.

* * *

Heavy footsteps echoed through the darkness as a shadowy figure moved through the night. The figure was sprinting along the road, panting loudly. It jumped over a fallen streetlight, maintaining their speed. Ducking under the low, broken branch of a small tree. They continued moving, never taking a break as they took another corner. Finally coming to a stop outside one of the houses. The truck that was badly parked outside gave the figure new motivation as it sprinted to the door, moving faster than ever. The door opened easily, it was unlocked. In the figure's rush, it was now also left wide open. The figure knew where it was going, heading straight up the stairs, taking them three at a time. It barged through the door on the right, almost diving into the room. Two more figures lay inside, tangled together. There was a loud sigh of relief as the figure stood over the others, finally allowing itself to catch its breath. Its legs began to shake, almost completely giving up. Another loud sigh, this time an annoyed one, echoed around the room as the shadow scanned the floor. The figure slowly limped its way out of the room. The effects of sprinting all the way home from the diner quickly catching up with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not so sure about this chapter, it almost feels like the pricefield stuff is rushed, but I also believe that this is how it would have happened between them. Let me know if you feel its too rushed and I might change it.  
> Feel free to leave kudos and stuff if you want. Be back with more pricefield next week!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for all the kudos, it does help with writing. I have finally figured out a basic plan of the story, and I think its a cool idea. But in the past when I made plans I tend to rush it, when I reread some of the chapters it does feel a little rushed to me. But I might just be used to reading other fanfics that are a lot slower paced, I will try not to rush it, but if you feel its moving on too quickly or there isn't enough detail in places please let me know so I can improve it.

The loud humming sound caused Max to open her eyes. She was standing on some kind of cylindrical platform, she looked around. It was a dark room. No. Not a room. Just nothingness. She looked down. She was on the roof of a truck. She looked over the back to see a trail of a thick, grey liquid being left behind. _A cement mixer? What the fuck? Where the fuck am I?_ She realised the truck was moving slowly forward, a steady stream of cement being left behind. It was a perfect line, going off into the distance. She went to the front of the truck to look out in that direction. More nothingness, except this time without the cement. Looking closer at the ground, Max saw something, a trench. The mixer was following an empty trench, filling it with cement. Another realisation hit Max, she was standing on the round part of the truck that stored the cement, the part that was supposed to be rotating to keep the cement wet. But it wasn't. This was clearly some weird dream, so obviously the mixer could do what it wanted, but it was still weird. Max was getting concerned at the strong sense of deja vu she was getting from all this. Had she had this dream before? Did this dream mean something? Was she going to drown in cement tomorrow? Okay, the last question was a little extreme, but with everything going on recently, it wouldn't surprise her. She chuckled to herself. This dream was still far better than the one she had earlier, Max shuddered at the thought. She felt a sudden urge to rewind, she shouldn't. She had to avoid causing another storm. But it was a dream after all, what harm could it possibly do? Max raised her arm, ready to rewind. What would it do anyway? Move the truck back a few metres? The area around her got darker. What was happening? She hadn't even rewound yet. But then she felt a burning at the back of her eyes. A burning that could only be caused by one thing. Sunlight. It wasn't getting darker, it was fading. Time to wake up. Time to see Chloe.

* * *

The world around her was slowly coming back into focus as she lay still on the bed. Max's eyes were already adjusting to the light that was burning at her eyelids. She'd be able to open her eyes soon. Her hearing was also coming back, whenever she had a deep sleep it usually took a few moments. Her eyes opened as she slowly sat up. She grazed her fingers over her lips and she grinned. Thinking back to the previous night. Glancing around Max realised Chloe's room had been tidied up. The papers on the floor had gone, from where she could see. Chloe was gone too. What was that? Her hearing now almost fully returned. She could hear sobbing. Chloe. She was crying. Max turned her head to look over the side of the bed. Chloe was leaning back against it, sitting on the floor, her head in her hands. Max instantly jumped out of bed and sat down next to her. She reached out and pulled Chloe into an embrace. Chloe's face sank into her shoulder and she wrapped her arms around Max hugging her back. She was shaking. "It's okay. I'm here." Max began muttering into Chloe's ear, trying to comfort her. She looked around, attempting to find out what had upset her. Max's heart sank when she saw it. Chloe had almost finished clearing up the sheets of paper from the floor, in front of where she sat on the floor was a messy pile of Rachel's missing posters. _Shit, it's too soon, Chloe is still dealing with the loss of Rachel. We shouldn't have kissed last night_.

"Chloe, I'm so sorry. I should have known, I'm so-" Max tried to apologise for the previous night but was cut off by Chloe's weak voice.

"P-please, Max, d-don't leave m-me" Chloe whispered into Max's shoulder, her shaking was calming down.

Max's heart broke at how vulnerable and broken Chloe sounded. "Never," she whispered back, "You're stuck with me forever."

Chloe lifted her head from Max's shoulder a small smile on her face, tears still streaming down her cheeks, but the sobbing had stopped. Max moved a hand to cup Chloe's face and she smiled back, stroking her cheek with her thumb, wiping away some of the tears. Chloe's smile grew, she was gazing into Max's eyes. Max looked back into Chloe's eyes, seeing something she'd only seen once before, earlier in the week. Noticing it made Max feel warm inside, just like it did when she saw it while they were in the pool at Blackwell. Max sighed happily as she was only now finding a word to describe that look in her eyes. Love. Chloe loved her. That look she was giving her was all the proof needed. It made Max feel so... so...

Max's thoughts were cut off when she felt something soft and wet lightly graze her lips. She instinctively leaned into it, tasting a small bit of salt. Suddenly Max was lying on the floor, the contact against her lips was pushing back harder. There was a sudden crushing pressure against her, it almost winded her. The pressure against her lips broke off. Chloe's amazing blue eyes finally disappeared from sight, allowing her clouded mind to come back into focus. Max was now able to piece together what just happened. Chloe was lying on top of her, her cheek against Max's. Chloe sighed happily, it was almost directly against her ear, causing Max to shudder. "I'm in love with you Max Caulfield" Chloe whispered, causing Max to shudder again.

Chloe sat up, straddling Max's waist. She was studying her face. The proud smile on her face, probably because she'd actually been able to say it this time, was fading. _Shit, say something_. Max opened and closed her mouth, unable to say anything. Still getting over the kiss. Max found herself lost in Chloe's eyes again, after what felt like an eternity she realised that she should probably say something. "I'm in love with you too, Chloe Price" Max muttered.

"Finally, the suspense was killing m-Woah!" Chloe said, but was cut off when Max pulled her down for another kiss.

* * *

"Damn, Max, that was intense!" Chloe said, still catching her breath from their make out session. Following Max down the stairs for breakfast.

"Shut up!" Max replied, blushing fiercely. She didn't even know what came over her. She couldn't stop staring into those eyes and all she could think of was how their lips should be mashed together for all eternity. Max shook her head to get the thoughts out of her mind, only to get replaced by a more serious thought. A question. At the bottom of the stairs, Max stopped and turned to Chloe, who was even taller since she was two steps behind. _How do I ask her? What do I say?_ Max was trying to think of how to bring it up.

"Hey, are you okay?" Chloe asked, there must have been a strange look on Max's face as she thought, since Chloe had noticed something was wrong.

"I'm fine," Max replied a little too quickly, she sighed, "It's just," she took a moment to think of how to say it, Chloe stood there, waiting patiently, "w-what are we now?"

Chloe looked visibly shocked by the question, her face shifted in a way that told Max she was thinking. _This is when she tells me that she's still dealing with Rachel and she'd rather we stayed friends for the rest of our lives_. Max knew that the thought was never going to happen, but she thought it anyway. She could feel her mind searching for more ideas to make her nervous and doubt herself, luckily Chloe interrupted this train of thought. "Dammit, the one time I need a good gay joke and I can't think of any." This elicited an eye roll and a chuckle from Max. Chloe returned the gesture with a fond smile and she placed her arms over Max's shoulders. She leaned her head forward putting their foreheads together and spoke again, "W-well," It was funny how Chloe could go from confidently joking around to being shy and nervous in less than a second, "I-I guess we could, I mean i-if you wanted, I could be y-your girlfriend?"

 _Yes! Yes! Hella fucking yes!_ Max didn't even need to think about the reply, "Mine huh?" She smirked, "hella yes!" Max pulled them together and squeezed Chloe tight, giving her a peck on the cheek. She could feel Chloe start to relax against her and she hugged and squeezed back. They stood on the stairs for a few minutes enjoying the moment, until Chloe's stomach grumbled, followed shortly by Max's. The girls giggled and seperated slightly, only slightly, so they could continue on their way to the kitchen to cook some breakfast. Neither of the girls could stop themselves smiling the entire time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave kudos and comments. Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am an extremely anti social person and find it difficult to even talk to people let alone actually have conversations. So it also means that when writing conversations between characters, I have no idea how to make it a simple friendly conversation. The only thing I can use conversations for, is to reveal something or to have a realisation. So I'd like to apologise in advance for the awkward and short conversations to come, in this chapter and any future ones.

"What are we gonna do today?" Max asked, there were so many things they should be doing. She needed to make sure everyone was okay, help the authorities deal with the damage caused by the storm. They had to figure out if the storm really was the end of all this. They had to find out about David and how it all went down in the dark room, if it even happened. And of course, Max still had a lot of homework, most of which was overdue.

Chloe was sitting across the table from Max, they'd just finished their breakfast, eggs and bacon, obviously. "Mom wanted us to head down to-" Chloe was cut off.

"Joyce is alive? She's okay?" Max asked, one of her many worries now fading away.

"Yeah! Why wouldn't sh-Oh, right" Chloe's face dropped as the realisation hit her, "We saved her this time round, Max, we saved everyone!" Chloe reached over the table, placing her hand over Max's and giving it a gentle squeeze. "She wanted us to head over to the two whales, to help her clean up. It turns out it took quite a beating before the shield went up."

Max smiled at Chloe, turning her hand so they could interlock their fingers. "When did she tell you this?" She couldn't remember seeing Joyce at all since before the storm.

"She came back last night to make sure we were safe. When I woke up early this morning, I heard some noises and went downstairs to find her standing there. We talked for a bit before she left and I came up to check on you and clean up."

Another thought rushed into Max's mind, she felt herself getting nervous, "Chloe? D-do we tell her? A-about us?"

"We don't have to tell her straight away, if you're not comfortable. But we will tell her at some point. There's no need to worry, she already see's you as her second daughter. She'll probably say that she knew we'd end up getting together back when we were kids." Max chuckled at that thought, instantly relaxing. "We should head out soon, wouldn't want to keep her waiting" Max nodded at Chloe's statement as they both stood up, gathering their plates together.

The table vibrated for a moment, both girls looked at it confused for a few seconds. Max realised it was her phone, Chloe took the stuff into the kitchen to clean up as she went over to see who'd sent her a message. _Woah, that's a lot of texts. I should probably reply to some and let everyone know I'm still alive_. She opened up the messages. She had several panicked messages from both her parents, sent throughout the night. There were a few more from Warren, Dana, Juliet, and other people she knew, some she only vaguely knew. Due to her wanting to save time she sent a group text to everyone.

 **Max** : No need to worry about me, I'm alive and safe. Please stop spamming me.

As she was about to put her phone down to go and help Chloe in the kitchen, her phone vibrated again. Someone had replied to her message.

 **Kate** : Haha. Sorry! I didn't really think about the fact that everyone was going to be texting you the same thing. But I'm glad you're safe. I'm also safe, rescued from the chaotic hospital by a knight in shining armour.

Max decided Chloe could clean up on her own and continued her conversation with Kate.

 **Max** : Who is this knight in shining armour?

 **Kate** : Its a secret! Max, i understand if you don't want to meet up for our tea date.

 _Shit, I forgot with everything that's been going on_. Today was Saturday. Every week Max and Kate would go out to have tea together and bitch about life. After everything that had happened to Kate, she decided it would be a bad idea to not go. Her phone went off again, Max had gotten lost in her thoughts again. She really had to try and stop doing that.

 **Kate** : I don't know where we'd go anyway, the café was crushed by a tree.

The café was the only place in Arcadia bay that served decent tea, where else could they go? _I'm sure the two whales serve tea._

 **Max** : Of course I'm still going to have tea with you! We can just go to the two whales, me and Chloe are going to be there cleaning up anyway.

 **Kate** : That sounds nice, will Chloe be joining us? I'd love to finally meet her.

 **Max** : Yeah, she'll probably sit with us even if we didn't invite her.

 **Kate** : Haha! Would you mind if I brought a friend as well?

 **Max** : Of course you can! Is this 'friend' your knight in shining armour?

 **Kate** : Maybe... See you there at 1.

 **Max** : I think I'll be the one seeing you there, since ill already be there cleaning up. Xomaxo.

Max put down her phone and proceeded to get lost in her thoughts, thinking about who this knight in shining armour could be. If it was anyone from Blackwell Kate would've just said their name. Maybe it was one of the staff at the hospital, or another patient. Or someb... Max screamed as something big pounced on her. The added weight forced her to collapse on the ground. Lying on her front, her vision was clouded by strands of blue hair. Her ears filled with the sound of the best laugh in the world. The weight on her back lifted and she rolled over, instantly smiling as she saw the happy face of the most beautiful girl in the world. She grabbed a hand that was being offered to her and pulled herself up.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. I called you like five times and you just stood there looking all cute 'n shit" Chloe said, still grinning.

Max couldn't physically reply, her heart was still racing after that scare. So instead she just rolled her eyes. She watched as Chloe turned around to grab something off the table. A pile of clothes was placed in Max's arms. "I was gonna give these back yesterday, but we were kinda busy. So, since your other clothes are still soaking wet and covered in mud I thought you'd wa-" Max cut Chloe off, she was talking too much. So Max decided to do the one thing she knew Chloe would prefer to use her lips for, other than talking. The clothes she'd been handed were the ones she was wearing to the pool that night. Chloe must have wa-. No. Joyce must have washed them. Chloe couldn't even wash her own clothes let alone Max's. Their kiss continued for a little longer, both girls blushing. Max's blush instantly grew a thousand times more intense when she heard, and felt, Chloe moan into their kiss. They eventually broke the contact, breathing heavily. Chloe looked away, decidedly finding a certain wine stain in the carpet more interesting than anything else. Max giggled and sighed contentedly as she stood simply watching Chloe.

Eventually Chloe spoke, "Holy shit Max, I should keep talking 24/7 if you're gonna keep cutting me off like that."

Max simply giggled and turned on her heels, slowly walking towards the stairs. "If you do that, we're going to be late. Joyce won't be very happy with you if she had to do all the work herself and we turn up with our tongues down each others throats" She said with a teasing tone.

"I dunno, sounds hella nice to me" Chloe replied, actually considering it as a viable option.

Max rolled her eyes and sighed, climbing the stairs. "Just go get dressed"

"Yes Ma'am" Chloe said in a sarcastic voice and did a mock salute in Max's direction. Then she took off, running to the stairs. Chloe charged after Max, tackling her to the ground at the top step shouting, "Mutiny!" She assaulted Max with kisses and tickles. Max was struggling to breathe as her face was peppered with kisses and her sides were attacked by Chloe's fingers. She was wriggling as much as she could, trying to get free. _'Captains can't commit munity'_ and _'We really are going to be late aren't we?'_ Were the last rational thoughts Max could manage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like its taking forever to even get anywhere with this story, but I guess its just a combination of stupidly short chapters and me trying desperately hard to not rush it.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comment and stuff, it helps to know people are actually enjoying this story. I'll be back next week with some cleaning.  
> Well.... That doesn't sound interesting at all.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!  
> This chapter couldn't be even less related to Christmas even if it tried.  
> My writing is starting to slow down and I'm not as many chapters ahead as I like, but i don't want to stop adding chapters every week since if I do then ill just keep slipping until I stop completely. Hopefully I can force myself to keep up with writing because I'd hate myself if I just stopped writing like I have before, too many times.

The truck sped down the roads of Arcadia bay, Max watched as the buildings rushed past. They were going to be late. As much as Max loved being assaulted by Chloe, she really didn't want to give Joyce any reason to dislike her, especially now. She glanced over at Chloe and smiled. She couldn't help it, knowing that they were together and that they had managed to save everyone. _In this reality anyway_. Not again. Those alternate timelines didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to Max was sitting right next to her.

The truck slowed as it approached the diner, Max looked over at it. Some of the windows were smashed and the sign had been slightly damaged. It looked like there was a small part of a tree in the entrance, holding open a broken door. Max then looked to the side of the diner, she saw a familiar form resting in the corner. Something felt off about it. The area around the woman was too familiar. It reminded her of her dream. It was her. Max had seen the storm from her perspective. But why?

"Earth to Max!" Chloe said, her voice raised slightly as she nudged Max's shoulder. She turned to face Chloe, being brought out of her thoughts, they'd already pulled into a space in the parking lot, "you okay?"

"I'm fine, just...thinking." Max replied with a smile. Chloe's concerned look also turned into a smile.

"I think you're doing a little too much of that recently"

"Yeah, I guess, but there's been a lot to think about. And now, a lot to worry about." Max said, her smile fading, _I hope we fixed everything, I hope nothing is going to go wrong anymore, I don't think I'll be able to handle it_. Chloe's smile also faded and she reached across the seat to pull her into a quick hug. Both of them instantly relaxing.

"Hey, I almost forgot," Chloe started, the pair broke apart and Max looked into Chloe's eyes as she spoke, "Alex texted me this morning. Wait. Let me show you." She leaned back and began to rummage around in her pocket. Max could only give Chloe a confused look, _I must have missed something last night_. "Oh right, I helped him to his car and he gave me his number" Chloe answered her unspoken question as she finally pulled out her phone and unlocked it. She handed it over to her and Max looked at the messages.

 **Rich Douche** : Hi, it's Alex, I wanted to let you know that I went to check on the lighthouse this morning and there's something weird here.

 **Rich Douche** : Its probably best to stay away from the lighthouse today.

 **Chloe** : Thanks for the warning???

 **Chloe** : What's weird???

 **Chloe** : Dude, answer me

Max chuckled as she finished reading the messages, handing the phone back to Chloe, "Seriously? Rich Douche?"

"What? His car is worth more than my home." Chloe stated, when she saw Max's look she continued, "I looked it up, ok?" Max chuckled again and shook her head. "What?" Chloe asked.

"Come on, we're already late" Max said, opening her door and hopping out the truck. Chloe sighed and followed.

The couple made their way to the door to the diner. Max smiled at that word, or at least her smile grew, since she was already smiling. They managed to climb over the branch holding the door open. Max saw that the branch had been wedged in place, they would need to cut it up to get it out. They entered the diner, instantly spotting Joyce behind the counter. She was working her way across, anything that was still in one piece or still usable was placed to one side, everything else was brushed onto the floor, to join the rest of the broken glass, plates, and other bits of debris. Surprisingly there wasn't much damage, the wind had knocked over a lot of stuff, there were a few branches and twigs that had come in through the broken windows and there was the end of a severed telephone line coming in through a hole in the window at the end of the diner. Joyce stopped what she was doing, looked up at them and smiled, "You're late." She simply said before returning her gaze to the counter and continuing her work.

"Hello to you too Mom." Chloe said in a mock annoyed tone. Her response to her mother had visibly shocked both Joyce and Max. It seemed the storm had changed her, before the storm she would have actually gotten angry and would have sworn at Joyce or made a comment about her not caring. Chloe continued to talk, oblivious to the reaction to her previous words, "And we're late because Max decided to sleep in and refuse to leave the house without her eggs and bacon." Chloe smirked.

This instantly got Max's attention as her head snapped to look at Chloe, "Hey! That's not true!" Max exclaimed, nudging Chloe with her elbow.

"Oh really? Why were we late then?" Chloe replied instantly, in a playful tone, nudging Max back.

"We were-uuh... W-we... Uuuh" Max sighed, it was a trap. She couldn't say why they were really late, unless she wanted Joyce to know about her and Chloe. If she decided to make another lie, she knew Joyce would know, Max wasn't as good at lying as Chloe was. So she had to go along with what Chloe had said, she sighed in defeat. _You're so lucky I love you right now_. "Fine, it was my fault"

Max looked over to Joyce, who was looking back at her with a knowing smile. "Well, now that you have decided to show up, I guess I should give you some Jobs... Hmm." Joyce said thoughtfully, Max was glad she didn't say anything about her awkward response.

"Should we board the windows up or something?" Chloe suggested as she glanced around.

"Actually, replacements are going to be fitted later." Joyce replied. That was fast, especially with pretty much everyone else in the bay also wanting to replace windows. "Do you know the Chase family?" She asked. That was a strange question.

"Like, Victoria Chase?" Chloe replied, "Why?"

Why would Joyce be interested in the Chases? "Well, there's been a large group of people going around helping out. They offered to clean up the diner, but I told them that there were more important things for them to help with. So they insisted on organising a few of them to come back in the evening to replace the windows and doors, so we can lock the place up for the night." Joyce explained. _This doesn't explain anything, it has nothing to do with the Chases, unless_..."When I asked them why they were doing this, they said they had been hired by the Chase family to help clean up, help any injured and help make repairs around the bay."

Max and Chloe were instantly confused, Victoria definitely had nothing to do with that. She would never do that. Would she? It had to have been her parents, probably because they were concerned for their precious Victoria's safety. "Huh, that sounds nothing like Victoria" Chloe voiced Max's thoughts.

"Well anyway, could you clean up the tables? Just do the same as I'm doing here."

"Yeah, okay" Max said, grabbing Chloe by the arm to drag her to the booth at the end to begin cleaning, Chloe simply groaned and only half resisted Max. She probably forgot that this would involve work when she agreed to help.

Max grabbed the salt and pepper shakers to place them at the end of the table as Chloe brushed some twigs onto the floor with her hand. Max saw what she did, instantly reaching over to grab her wrist before she could do it again. Chloe glanced up at her confused, "Chloe get a brush or some thick gloves, the table's covered in broken glass, you could cut yourself." Max's concern for her made Chloe smile. Max couldn't help but look into her eyes for a moment, instantly getting lost, until a few short seconds later when Chloe walked away to find a brush.

They continued to clean up the diner, working their way across each of the tables. Joyce had quickly finished the counter and had now grabbed some cleaning chemicals and some rags. She approached the girls who were almost finished brushing off the final table. "Okay girls, here," she handed each of them a can of chemicals and a rag, "You two polish up the seats and I'll sanitise and fix up the tables" Joyce explained. Before Chloe could protest at the new task, Joyce had already started wiping down the table and rearranging the items on it. The girls decided to simply get on with their tasks. Max started working on the seats to the right of Joyce as Chloe began to work on the seats to the left. As Max cleaned, her mind wondered. _Did David make it out of the dark room alive? Was Jefferson there? Did he even find it?_ She shook her head to try and stop her thoughts, she wondered if Joyce knew. She'd finished the seats, so she stood up straight and started to speak, "Uh-Joyce? I-Is David okay?" She decided to keep it simple, it would probably look suspicious if she mentioned what David might have been doing.

"Yes, he's fine, apparently he uncovered something about a student and teacher at Blackwell. He said over the phone that he might be spending all day at the police station, helping them sort out evidence. He couldn't tell me much since its still being investigated." Joyce replied, as she talked, she had finished working on the table. Max looked past Joyce to see Chloe had finished as well.

The three of them moved over to the next table, they continued working the same way as before. Again Max felt the need to ask a question, "Joyce, is it okay that I said some friends could come here? Since the place we usually go was destroyed." As she asked this, she saw Chloe, in the corner of her eyes, look over at her and smile. She'd said she was excited to meet Kate when Max told her on the way over.

"That's fine sweety, as long as it's not too many. And I'm sorry but, I wont be able get you any food since the gas was cut off. I hope you'll be okay with some hot drinks." Joyce replied happily.

"There's only two, and that's fine, as long as there's tea I'm sure they'll be happy." Max said, smiling back at Joyce, she was glad Joyce was okay with it. It would have been awkward if she had to text Kate to tell her they couldn't go to the two whales.

The three of them continued to talk about random topics as they cleaned, after finishing the tables they swept the floor. Clearing the diner of debris, other than the large branch wedged in the door. After sweeping they tried, and failed, to remove it. Deciding instead to wait for the group of helpers to come back so they could ask them to help with it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave comments and kudos. Hopefully this chapter wasn't too boring, next chapter will hopefully be more interesting. Starting the new year with a flashback? If that's what you'd call it. Probably something ironic or poetic about it in some way. New year - looking into the past. I'll be back next week!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!  
> Now that I have a somewhat decent plot planned, I've been thinking about renaming the story to 'Chaos Theory', but I have a feeling that title is too overused. I'm going to keep thinking to see if I can find another title that isn't as popular. I just thought I should say something, since at this point I know for certain that I will be changing the title. Just in case anyone wanted a heads up.

She groaned, this bed was so uncomfortable. It felt like she was just lying on the floor, like she was some kind of peasant or something. Wait. She _was_ lying on the floor. The world around her was still hazy, _something isn't right_. She tried to look around but bright lights were shining in her eyes, she was unable to see anything other than a dark blob. It was moving around her with quick and sudden movements. It reminded her of an excited puppy. An abnormally huge, man sized puppy. Her ears were still ringing, eyes were refusing to adjust to the light. So instead, she struggled to tilt her head away from it, so it wasn't shining in her face. Before she managed to turn far enough, the puppy blob let out a loud angry bark. It could have been saying words, but her mind wasn't clear enough to decipher it. There was suddenly an almost painful pressure against her head, trying to force it into the ground. _Is that thing fucking touching me? It had better not have rabies or_... The thought died in her head as there was a sudden, brief, sharp pain in her neck. _It just fucking scratched me didn't it?_ The lights in her eyes were fading, the puppy blob was blurring even more. She could feel something tugging on her mind, pulling on her consciousness. Slowly pulling her back into the dark. _I'm fucking dying?! That thing has fucking killed me hasn't it? That's it, I'm going to fucking kill that fat little shit. NOBODY gets away...w-with k-killing V......Vic....toria.....Ch...........Cha......_ Her mind was blank, body going limp. A deep, satisfied chuckle echoed around the dark room. _Click. Click. Click._

* * *

_Chase. What? What happened, isn't this supposed to be heaven?._ She groaned, her back was aching. She was lying on something soft now. Her hearing and vision were coming back quickly. She was lying across a small couch in the middle of a room. There was a section at the end set up for photography. A body lay there, it was definitely still alive, but it looked unconscious. It lay on its front, facing away from her, its arms and legs were bound. A broken camera lay on the floor near him, it was definitely a him. From what she could see of him, he was definitely familiar. There was an annoying tapping sound behind her. _What the fuck is it?_ She struggled to sit up, glancing over the back of the couch, seeing the other half of the room. There was the entrance to the room on the right, on the left was an expensive looking computer, along with an angry looking Mr. Madson typing at the keyboard. "What the fuck is going on?" She asked, not quite managing the bitchy tone she wanted with her currently slightly gravelly voice.

David looked up at her, finally noticing her awake. He got up and walked over, crouching down in front of the couch, "Are you okay? Feeling any side effects of the drugs?" He asked her, with a calm voice.

 _Drugs? How does he know I was doing drugs? He found me passed out in here, but that's never happened when I got high before, unless..._ She quickly glanced at the bound body. _No! No fucking way. He doesn't mean those kinds of drugs, he means **those** kinds of drugs... Shit!_ Her gaze shifted over to herself, quickly scanning over her clothing. _He didn't... Did he? Nothing seems to be on wrong and it doesn't feel like he did_. Her heart rate was rising. Her body starting to shake. She flinched as she felt a hand hesitantly touch her shoulder, but then she relaxed into it, trying to calm her mind.

"Don't worry, I don't think he...did that. Just so-" David attempted to explain but she cut him off.

"W-who?" She simply asked, she knew at this point, for certain, that it was somebody she knew.

David sighed, but decided it was best to just answer her question, "Mark Jefferson" Victoria's mind went blank. _Him? Not just some dumb horny teenager, but a teacher? He has the nerve to do this to me? Even after he turned me down?_ She was no longer shaking, victoria was now filled with rage.

After a few moments, David went back to the computer. Victoria had calmed down, he'd explained what Mark had done to her, the drugging and the fucked up photos. Knowing that he hadn't done anything to her was slightly comforting, but in a way, it was also a little worse. Deciding to try and find out something about this place, she looked to the small glass table in front of her. On it, she saw some used syringes, she could still see the residue of the drugs they contained. Next to them was a red folder, suddenly she was curious. Victoria sat forward in her seat to reach the table, she reached the folder and span it round, instantly recognising her name scrawled on the label in _his_ handwriting. she reached out and flicked it open, there were a few pictures stored in the folder. They were of a semi-conscious Victoria lying on the floor, around where Jefferson was now. In some of them she was clearly awake, but she just looked so out of it. It was almost the same as... Her heart sank. _Not her too. How could he go for her? She was the most innocent girl in Blackwell and he did this to her? She **was** innocent. Until I posted that video. Kate, I'm so, so sorry. I drove you to try and kill yourself. Its my fault. _ She was shaking again, she needed some fresh air.

Victoria shot up from where she sat, breathing heavily. She swiftly moved around the couch, to make her way to the exit, but she froze. Something caught her eye, a flash of red from a cupboard where the door had been left slightly open. She pulled open the door and gasped as she took a step back, her heart beating so fast, it felt like it was going to explode. More folders. Rachel. Kate. There was a gap, and then... Max. _No. No no no no no._ Her mind was going crazy. "Shit!" Was all she could say.

She turned and charged to the exit, she could feel David glaring at her back. He was probably wondering what happened, but she didn't care. As she climbed the steps, she heard him get out of his seat, probably to see what she found.

Victoria reached the top of the steps and found herself in a small barn. Leaning against a wall, she glanced around as she slowly regained control of her breathing. But as she stood in the barn, she found herself unable to relax. Although the atmosphere was different from in the shelter, there was still something off. There was electricity in the air, it felt like she was in danger. **Crack**. Thunder. There was a storm. She approached the barn doors, walking around Mark's car, and pushed open one of of the large wooden doors. She instantly forgot how to breathe. What she saw was not a storm, it was just death and destruction. The strong wind almost made her lose her balance. She knew nobody would survive this. She was going to die, she would never be able to get away fast enough without... She glanced over her shoulder. _Well, he wont be needing it, so why the fuck not?_ Victoria jumped into the drivers seat of Mark's car, speeding through the doorway. Reducing the other door to splinters as the car left the barn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does anyone know if Kate's hospital room number is ever mentioned? I was just curious to see if her room has a number or name that's used in the game. If not, I'll just pick a random number, I cant find anything on the internet and I just wanted to be sure.  
> Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to leave kudos and stuff. I'll be back next week!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you may or may not have noticed, I have now changed the title to Mise en abyme. Its not specifically a photography term but it can be used when taking pictures. Its French and literally translates to 'placed into abyss', I thought it sounded kinda cool and fits in with the story. I can't be bothered to explain what it means, or copy the definition, so I guess you can look it up yourself.  
> I spent longer on this chapter than I have on any of the others and so I don't actually have any more completed chapters, so I need to get writing to build up the buffer again. Hopefully I can motivate myself to do it. I think I mentioned this on a previous chapter, but oh well.  
> This also may be the longest chapter yet, or at least close to it.  
> So enjoy...

Victoria continued to drive along the dirt road, keeping Arcadia bay behind her. Occasionally she would glance at one of the mirrors, but she would immediately flinch and look away. Why was she acting like this? She had nothing to be sorry for. This wasn't her fault. But why was she feeling this way? Yes, she was turning her back on everyone, leaving them to die. But she didn't care, she didn't owe them anything... Well, maybe she owed someone. But it was too late to turn back now. She'd never get back there in time, before the hospital was destroyed.

The further she went, the stronger the pressure against her chest became. It was crushing her heart. Her knuckles white from her strong grip on the steering wheel. She couldn't. They'd never make it out alive. Victoria was meant to survive on her own. She deserved to live with the guilt rather than die doing something dumb. She kept going through excuses in her head, until she ran out. Victoria slammed on the brakes, the car screeching to a halt. Her face, mere millimeters away from hitting the steering wheel. She sighed as she sat still for a moment. _Fuck. I swear to god Kate, if I die, I'm going to come back as a ghost and haunt you._ She loosened her grip on the steering wheel and span the car around. She slammed her foot into the accelerator and the car sped off, back towards the bay.

* * *

 

She was close to the hospital now, as she glanced around she saw groups of people running in the opposite direction. There were very few cars around, Victoria had already discovered that this was because most of the roads had been blocked off by fallen trees or streetlights. The storm hadn't hit yet, but it was close. Smaller objects were flying around everywhere, some would definitely hurt if they hit someone.

Victoria finally arrived at the hospital. She pulled into the parking lot, it was almost full. Which, given the current circumstances, made it seem a little too empty. She easily found a space and parked. Victoria sat for a moment, she could feel the adrenaline being pumped around her body. _Mom and Dad are going to kill me if they ever find out about this_. She took a final deep breath before shoving open the door and jumping out.

As she entered the reception area her jaw dropped at the sight. Chaos. Pure chaos. The reception area was full of people, all the seats were taken and more people were standing. A lot of the people had small injuries, either damaged legs from falling while running around, or scratches and bruises on heads from being hit by flying debris. There were a few doctors and nurses running around, quickly tending to the injuries. She quickly walked over to the desk, there was nobody else waiting, but the male receptionist was occupied with heaps of paperwork that he appeared to be rushing through. _Perfect. He won't want to be disturbed and he'll want to get back to work as fast as possible, so he won't pay much attention to me. He'll only want me out of his way_. Victoria reached the desk and rested her elbows on it, leaning forwards slightly. He glanced up at her with an annoyed look in his eyes, "Can I help you?" His voice was just seeping with annoyance and boredom.

"Can you tell me where Kate Marsh is?" She asked, struggling to keep her tone friendly.

The man turned to his computer and typed at it for a few moments. Then he looked back to Victoria, "She's in room 129" The moment he said the number, he went straight back to his work. She rolled her eyes at him and proceeded to jog to Kate's room. Her pace quickened when the ground shook and lights flickered. In the distance she could vaguely hear the receptionist calling to her, "Hey! Wait! Visiting hours are over!", and obviously she ignored him.

She reached the room quickly and took a moment to compose herself before going in. Kate was sitting at the back of the room at a small table, she was drawing in her sketchbook. Victoria glanced around the room looking at all the balloons, flowers and cards. Then she noticed that Kate was staring at her. Seeing Kate look at her reminded her of everything she'd done. Victoria hated herself, she hated that she was the one to make this girl feel worthless, that she was the one who drove her to attempt suicide. _I'm the one that's worthless. I just try to make everyone around me feel worthless so I can tell myself that I'm better than them. But I'm the one who's really worthless, not Kate, not anyone else._ She was broken out of her thoughts by a pair of arms being wrapped around her. She opened her eyes to see a blurry Kate hugging her. This led her to realise that she had been crying. Then she realised that there was a soft whispering in her ear, "It's okay, I forgive you. Victoria, it's okay, it's not your fault."

Victoria took a step back, out of the hug, and wiped her eyes. Then she looked into Kate's eyes, her golden irises soothed her and helped her stop crying. "I am so, so sorry Kate. I should never have recorded you, or put the video online. I should never have said any of those things to you and I'm sorry." Victoria said, rushing through her speech.

Kate smiled, placing her hands on Victoria's shoulders, "Its fine, I already said I forgave you, it was-" Kate began, but was cut off by the flickering lights, "What's going on?" She asked Victoria.

Victoria grabbed Kate's hand, remembering that their lives were in danger. "Shit! We need to leave, now! Follow me." She said, dragging Kate out the door by her hand.

As she pulled her down the corridor, Victoria heard Kate trying to tell her that she shouldn't leave, "I still need to be discharged", "The doctor said he might have to give me medication", "The nurse will be checking up on me in an hour". But she ignored them all. Once they got outside, Kate stopped talking and  actually started walking with Victoria instead of being dragged by her.

Kate sat in silence as Victoria started the car and started driving them away from the storm. The silence was only making Victoria more nervous as she tried to find a decent way of telling her about Mark. She was so focused on that and remembering the route with clear roads, that she almost didn't hear Kate speak. "Why did you come for me?"

"Because you deserve to live" Victoria replied almost instantly, in the corner of her eye she saw a shy smile on Kate's face. She sighed, it was now or never, "Kate, I know you were drugged at the party" Kate's smile instantly fell into a frown.

"Did Max tell you?"

At least both Kate and Max knew about the drugging part. She glanced into the mirror, they were back on the road out of Arcadia, the storm was far enough behind for them to stop for a moment. Victoria pulled over and turned in her seat to face Kate. "I know because I was drugged too"

Kate's jaw dropped for moment before she spoke again, "Are you okay? Do you know what happened?"

Victoria sighed and nodded her head slowly. Taking a deep breath, she began to explain, "I think Nathan was the one that drugged me, once I was unconscious he took me to this room. Its an underground bunker underneath an old barn. There was someone else there. He just took pictures of me, he didn't do anything else, just pictures of me lying on the floor." Kate's eyes were widening slowly as she explained, looking down at her hands in her lap, she continued, "David Madson came in and stopped him, knocked him out and tied him up, he told me everything when I woke up. It was Mark. Mr Jefferson." She finally said.

Kate gasped, "B..but, h...he-" she cut herself off, she was shaking. Victoria could see the tears in her eyes, so she leaned over and pulled Kate into a hug. Being this close to Kate while she was like this was making Victoria start to cry. Eventually the two of them managed to calm down.

Victoria had one more thing to tell Kate before she could relax, or at least relax as much as she could with a deadly storm closing in on them. "Kate, while I was there, I saw some folders. They had names on them. Most of them I didn't recognise but-" She paused for a moment to keep her breathing under control, "There was one with my name on it, one with yours on, there was one that said Rachel, and one said Max" She looked at Kate, she looked shocked, but also like she was thinking about something.

 After a few moments, Kate's face changed, she looked confused. Victoria looked closer at Kate's face to see if she could tell what was confusing her. Her cheek look slightly green, Victoria looked closer. _Kate's face is turning green,_ _shit, she's turning into the hulk_. Victoria was ready to dive out the door when she finally realised that it wasn't Kate's skin, it was just a reflection from a light, from somewhere. She turned to look out the back, Kate following her lead. Both girls stopped breathing, "Holy shit" she heard Kate whisper, making her smile.

In front of them, Arcadia bay was being covered in a green blanket, the pair sat motionless as they watched the storm pass harmlessly over the top. "Look" Kate said, Victoria followed her gaze to the lighthouse, wisps of green, red and blue energy were flowing out of it and into the protective shield.

* * *

Victoria groaned, her back was aching, again. A bright light was shining on her eyelids and she felt movement next to her. Her breathing was getting uneven, she was back in the bunker. "No!" She shouted as her eyes shot open and she jerked forward. In front of her, she saw the sun. It was morning, it looked like the sun had been up for a few hours. Her breathing slowed as she leaned back into her seat. Memories of the previous night came back to her, the idiotic decision to save Kate, talking about being drugged, then the shield thing. The two had watched the storm pass over the bay, only allowing themselves to relax after it had passed over them. By that time, Victoria was too tired to drive anywhere so they fell asleep in the car. Well, that explained her aching back. Another memory found its way to the surface, the conversation with Kate as they waited for the storm to pass. The details were still blurry, but her heart sank as she realised what she had said. Or agreed to at least. _Shit. I promised Kate I was going to be a better person. Treat people better and make more friends, not slaves. Fucking perfect. Now I have to, I cant go against Kate_. There was more movement next to her, Victoria turned to see Kate's reassuring smile and golden eyes, instantly making her feel warm inside. She smiled at Kate, who only grinned wider. Kate removed her hand from Victoria's shoulder, she hadn't even realised it was there, and she moved to put her phone in her pocket. "Victoria?" Kate asked turning towards her, "Max and Chloe are going to have tea with me at the two whales. Could you come with me?"

Victoria smiled at Kate, "I'm only going to have to drive you there anyway, so why not?" Kate smiled back at her reply, a thought crossed Victoria's mind, "Should we tell them about Mark?"

Kate frowned, "Probably, especially if he really did get to Max. And since Chloe will be there, we should mention about Rachel maybe being drugged"

Victoria nodded, she decided it was time to change the subject, "So what time are we meeting them?" She asked as she checked the time on the dashboard.

"One" Kate replied, causing Victoria to smile as she turned the key in the ignition.

"We're going to be late"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to kudos and comment and stuff!  
> Since the next chapter involves a lot of conversation and I'm really bad at it, the next chapter might be a little late. Since it will take a while to write and then probably rewrite a few times so it doesn't sound too awkward.  
> So, I'll be back next week! Hopefully...


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish on time!  
> And this has also turned out to be the longest chapter yet. Again. So enjoy the seven extra words.

Max yawned, after helping clean up the diner she was already tired. It was probably because she'd stayed up almost all night, and maybe also because she had used up a lot of energy last night. She was sitting next to Chloe in their booth. Chloe had suggested they sit next to each other instead of opposite so that Kate could sit next to her friend. But Max thought it was just an excuse for Chloe to be closer to her.

They were sitting in a comfortable silence, waiting for Kate to arrive. Max was looking at the lighthouse through the window, she was thinking about what Alex had told them and what it could mean. It was still intact from what she could see, but there were some dark lines around it. It was hard to see it properly from so far away. It could be that the energy flowing through the lighthouse had been too much, leaving scorch marks across it.

Max heard the sound of an engine approaching, shifting her focus from the cliff to the road. Outside, a familiar looking car had pulled up, it was black and expensive looking. The front, especially on the left side, of the car was covered in dents and scratches. Tinted windows prevented Max from seeing who was inside. It pulled into a space next to Chloe's truck. Her stomach lurched, as she realised where she'd seen it before, it was Jefferson's. Had he escaped David? Was he coming for them? For Max? Her breathing hitched when the door opened, then she sighed when Kate stepped out. A hand was placed on her knee, she turned to see Chloe giving her a confused look. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Max forced a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine" she replied. Max would explain later, maybe... Probably not. She put her hand on top Chloe's to give it a reassuring squeeze, causing Chloe to smile back.

 **Thud**. She heard a muttered "Fuck" drawing her attention towards the door, where it sounded like someone had tripped over. Probably over the branch in the door. Then there was a cute little giggle. Kate. This made her smile and relax back into her seat.

For about five seconds, until non other than the queen bitch of Blackwell Academy, Victoria Chase, stepped around the corner smiling. What the fuck was she doing here? Max felt Chloe tense up beside her. Why was... Wait. Smiling? Kate stepped into view, standing beside Victoria. The hand on Max's knee was gripping tightly, she squeezed the hand again. She hoped Chloe would behave for once. Max quickly shot Chloe a look that told her not to do anything stupid, just in case. The same look she'd had to use too many times throughout the week, the same look that Chloe always ignored. _Shit, this isn't going to end well._

Kate led Victoria over to the booth, both of them getting straight into their seats, Kate sitting at the window, opposite Chloe. _Thank you Kate, I don't think Chloe would handle this very well with Victoria opposite her. But then again, it is kind of uncomfortable opposite Victoria. I almost want to switch with Chloe_. "Hi Max, hi Chloe" Kate greeted, bringing Max out of her thoughts.

"Hey Kate, its good to see you out of hospital." Max replied, deciding to try and start the conversation where Kate explains why there's a wild Victoria sitting at the table. In the corner of her eyes, Max saw Victoria wince and sink back into her seat. _Oops, I reminded her that it's her fault. I don't know whether to feel good or bad about that._

Chloe finally stopped glaring at Victoria to turn to Kate, "Yeah, its good to know you're feeling better" Max watched as Chloe and Kate looked at each other for a moment, then she felt the hand on her knee relax.

"Thanks." Kate replied with a big smile on her face.

"Sorry we're late," Victoria said, joining the conversation. Surprisingly, she wasn't using the bitchy tone in her voice. "We were on the other side of the bay, when Kate told me where we were going"

"Wait, so you were with Kate this morning? What were you doing that you needed to be on the other side of the bay for? With Kate?" Chloe exploded. _Here we go_. Max could barely hold back a sigh. It was only a matter of time before she snapped at Victoria, Max didn't know much about their past, but she knew that Chloe had never liked her. As Max tuned back into reality, she realised that Chloe was still going, "Were you just going to drug her like you drugged Rachel? Just pretend to be her friend so you could slip her something? Or were you just gonna re-"

"Chloe!" Everyone in the booth turned to look at Kate. They sat in silence, the tension was fading surprisingly quickly as they all looked to Kate, waiting for her to gather her words. "Look, I know that both of you aren't Victoria's biggest fans, but even if she won't admit it, she's a good person. When it came to it, instead of running away, she came back to save my life from the storm. I guess it wouldn't have mattered anyway with the- But it doesn't matter, she tried to do something good. And she is trying to be a better person. So please give her a chance."

They sat in silence for a few moments. Max wasn't sure, she knew it was the right thing to do, for Victoria. And it would make Kate happy. But she didn't think she could forgive her, for all the times she bullied her, all the times she bullied Kate, until she almost killed herself. And they weren't the only ones, Victoria treated pretty much everyone badly. The only person Max ever saw her being nice to, was Jefferson. A shiver went up her spine. Max turned to Kate, she began to relax. If Victoria had tried to save Kate, tried to make up for what she had done, then maybe she did deserve another chance. "Okay" She replied.

"Fine" Chloe muttered.

"Thank you, I..." Victoria hesitated, "I look forward to being friends with you" She almost whispered the last part.

Max smiled, the way Victoria was acting reminded her, in a very, very small way, of Chloe. Speaking of, Max could feel Chloe charging up a snide comment. Luckily, Joyce walked in from the kitchen area, drawing everyone's attention. She walked around the counter and up to the table. "Hi ,there. I'm Joyce. And you must be Kate." She said, pointing at Kate, with a smile on her face. Kate nodded also smiling. "And you are?" She gestured to Victoria.

"Victoria" She replied, Max was surprised, again, to hear Victoria's voice, without the bitchy tone, it still felt weird to hear it.

"As in Victoria Chase?" She nodded in reply, Max knew where Joyce was taking this. She was actually curious herself, she may have even brought it up later, had Joyce not decided to mention it. "Do you know anything about the group of people running around helping with the repairs? They said they were hired by the Chase family."

Victoria looked confused, "Uh. No, no idea. I don't think my parents would do something like that, but I'll text them about it." Max didn't really expect Victoria to have a part in it, but it still surprised her that she knew nothing about it.

"Now, unfortunately we don't have any food at the moment, so all I can serve you is tea or coffee" Joyce explained, "So What'll it be?"

"Tea, please!" Max and Kate replied at the same time, causing them both to grin at each other.

"I'll have coffee, thanks" Victoria said, smiling.

Chloe rolled her eyes as she replied, "Coffee" Max struggled to hold back a chuckle at Chloe's simple reply.

Joyce grinned as she turned to walk away, "Coming right up"

Max's eyes widened as something dawned on her. Did Chloe say that Victoria drugged Rachel? What the fuck? Max glanced up at Victoria, she looked up as well. It seemed Victoria had realised what Max was thinking about, as she immediately started shaking her head looking nervous. It was like she was pleading Max not to mention it. So Max decided to bring it up anyway, "Wait. Chloe, did you say Victoria drugged Rachel?" She asked. Chloe only grinned in response.

Immediately, Kate's eyes shot wide open and she turned to look at Victoria, silently asking if it was true. Victoria simply sighed and nodded, but a smile did slip onto her face, which made Kate visibly relax, "What happened?" Kate questioned.

"It was a few years ago," Victoria began to explain, "Blackwell was doing a performance of the Tempest, I guess I was jealous that Rachel got the lead role. So, on the night of the performance, I made us some tea and slipped something into hers. If she wasn't able to perform, I would've taken her place. But when I went to point out to everyone that Rachel was on something, I lost my balance and passed out." Chloe was giggling violently at this point, _of course she'd have something to do with it_ , "It turns out that _someone_ switched the tea and I ended up drugging myself, and it was right in front of  everyone involved, including the teacher!" As she finished, Victoria smiled and shook her head at Chloe who was now crying with laughter. Max and Kate also giggled at the end of the story. "I haven't drank any tea since then" Victoria stated.

"I take it you're the one that switched the tea?" Max asked Chloe, who was struggling to calm herself down enough to answer, so she simply nodded.

There was the ping of a message being received, Victoria pulled out her phone, instantly frowning as she read the message. After a moment she put it away and looked back to the group, "It was my mom, I asked her about the relief team, but both my parents had no idea there was even a storm." That was strange, something felt off about it.

"Do you think it was just the Prescotts pretending to be Chases?" Chloe suggested. Max thought it was an interesting idea, but very unlikely. If they don't come up with anything else, they can always fall back on that theory.

"No, they wouldn't want another family gaining popularity in ' _their_ ' town" Victoria said.

Joyce returned to the table, handing out their drinks. Everyone thanked her and she turned to leave, but turned back when Victoria spoke, "Joyce? When you saw those people, what were they like? I mean, How many were there? Were they in uniform? And did they have any equipment?" _Hmm, I wonder if they brought a small crane with them to lift all the fallen trees out of the way._

Joyce stood for a moment, thinking before she answered, "Well, there were seven that came here. There were more on the street and they had a few trucks that were probably holding some equipment. I think they might have had a van as well. I'm not sure about a uniform, but they were wearing similar work clothes." Joyce stood there for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and walking away, back into the Kitchen.

"Why did you ask about that?" Chloe asked. Causing everyone's attention to focus on Victoria.

"Because something isn't right" Victoria replied, "It wouldn't be as bad if it was only a few people helping out. But-" she paused for a moment to gather her thoughts.

"But what?" Kate asked, sounding concerned.

"They are walking around claiming my family hired them to help out, even though we had no idea about what they were doing. And there's too many." Victoria explained. _It seems a little strange that someone would want to give the Chases credit for helping out, why? And what does Victoria mean by 'too many'?_

"What's that supposed to mean?" Chloe asked, not satisfied with what Victoria had said. Yet again voicing Max's thoughts, like she did when they were talking to Joyce earlier. Could she read Max's mind? Maybe a side effect of her new superpowers. Or maybe it was part of the connection Alex had said they shared. Or it could also just be nothing.

"Its... There's too many. It takes time to gather that many people, especially that many people that are actually qualified to help, it takes time to organise transport, and it takes time to load up the equipment. They should be arriving in a few hours, and even _that_ is pushing it." Victoria explained again.

Now Max understood what Victoria meant, "So, you're saying that for them to have arrived this morning, it would have to have been organised before the storm even happened." She spoke, this realisation made her start to worry about the real reason behind these helpers.

"And the roads." Kate added. Everyone turned to her confused, so she explained, "Me and Victoria saw this morning, that the storm had thrown around trees and stuff, blocking most of the roads into the bay. So that should have slowed them down as well"

Victoria nodded in agreement, taking a sip of her coffee. Max realised that this was the first time any of them had touched their drinks. So she decided to have a drink as well, the others following. Bringing them into silence, as they simply sat together drinking their tea and coffee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Originally this part was just going to be one chapter, but I decided it would be better to split it so I would be able to stick to the schedule. And, with everything I wanted to include in this part, I realised that it was going to be a lot longer than expected. Which seems to be happening a lot. I'm still not sure whether its a good or bad thing.  
> But anyway, feel free to leave kudos and comments and whatever else you want to leave. I'll be back next week with part 2 of the awkward conversation.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's part two of the conversation, this one is a little shorter, but I didn't want to drag it out too long. I'm still not sure if the end is rushed or not though...

As they finished their drinks, Max noticed Kate and Victoria sharing nervous glances. It was obvious they wanted to talk about something. Maybe they'd had an idea about those people going around and helping out. Whatever it was, it was making the silence increasingly uneasy. So Max decided to bring it up, "What's wrong?"

Kate and Victoria glanced at each other again, before Kate decided to speak, "Max, how much do you know about when Nathan drugged me?"

Kate was only asking this because she knew something. It was probably why Victoria was here. _Shit. It's like in my fucked up dream, Jefferson got to Victoria. At least David got there in time to save her._ Max glanced at Victoria who was looking nervous. She felt Chloe shift uneasily. "I don't know. How much do you know?" Max asked, she couldn't say anything that they may not know since there would be a lot of questions about how she found out. And she couldn't lie and say she didn't know anything since it would look suspicious if her reaction to Jefferson wasn't shocked enough.

Victoria sighed, "He got to me too", Chloe tensed up, Max could almost feel her blaming herself. It was probably for not caring about what happened to Victoria and only wanting revenge for Rachel.

"David saved you didn't he?" Chloe said, almost sounding disappointed that he wasn't as useless as she thought.

Kate and Victoria looked confused, "How did you-" Kate asked, but Chloe interrupted her.

"Mom said he was with the cops because of something with a student and a teacher." Chloe lied. Well, it was the truth, but it wasn't how she knew.

 "But do you know what teacher it was?" Victoria asked, her nervousness was directed at Max. This just confirmed that they knew about Jefferson. Max simply sighed and nodded. "Max. W..were you? Y-you know..." She trailed off at the question.

Should she tell the truth? If she did, they might mention it in the investigation and she might get found out for lying. Then Jefferson might be released. She didn't want to lie, but she had no choice. She could explain her powers, but at this point she didn't even understand them herself, and now with Chloe and Alex, it was probably best they kept it secret for now. At least until they can find out more. Max shook her head. Chloe's hand returned to its place on her knee. "So how did you find out about Mr Jefferson?" Kate asked.

Both Max and Chloe tensed up at this question. How would they explain this? They could just say they pieced it together, but that would make it seem like they know more and that they're hiding something. But the only other option was to tell the truth. They didn't have to tell the whole truth though, but enough for it to be believable. Max took a deep breath, "David was looking into Nathan, he had coordinates of where he'd driven his truck to. We matched up a set of coordinates with the date and time Kate was taken. That took us to the barn, where we found the dark room. We went through what we could find. We found letters and notes that told us what Nathan and Jefferson were doing. And we found the folders, we saw one had your name on it. We were going to warn you, but something else came up." Max saw Chloe's head sink in the corner of her eye.

Victoria and Kate simply sat in stunned silence, taking their time to take in the information they had just received. "So... Do you know anything about what happened to Rachel?" Victoria asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

Chloe's head dropped further and Max felt her starting to shake. She turned to the others with sad look in her eye and only nodded in response. A tear dropped from Chloe's eye, hitting her leg.

"I'm so sorry Chloe, I know you two were close." Kate said, solemnly. She reached out and placed her hand on the one Chloe was using to hold her empty cup with. Chloe looked up in response, smiling at Kate.

"It's okay, at least that asshole is going to get what he deserves" Chloe replied, her face shifting into a look of anger. She pulled her hands up to her face to wipe her tears away.

Max looked at Chloe's face as her hands moved away, to make sure she was okay. She smiled when she noticed Max looking at her. Max was about to smile back, but something moved. In the corner of her eye, Max saw something shift. She glanced out the window, looking for what it was. More movement, her eyes shifted towards the cliff. Her eyes widened. She gasped. The others at the table followed her gaze.

"Holy shit!", "What the fuck?", "Oh my-"

Max's brain finally connected the dots. The marks she'd seen on the lighthouse weren't scorch marks, she was too far away to see they were cracks. And they had grown. The lighthouse was now collapsing. The movement she'd seen was parts of the walls breaking off. But now. Now it was falling. It was falling to the side, the momentum throwing the steel top over the edge of the cliff and into the ocean. The rest of the structure collapsed, rubble littering the area. In a matter of seconds the lighthouse had disappeared. The girls sat in silence, staring in awe at where the lighthouse once stood.

"Shit!" Chloe broke the silence. Max turned to look at her, she was worried, "Do you think Alex was still up there?" She asked.

 _Shit. If he was up there then he would have been crushed. We need to make sure he's okay_. "Does anyone else want to go check it out?" Victoria asked. It seemed Chloe's comment to Max about Alex, went unheard by Victoria or Kate.

"Its where the weird energy stuff was coming from last night. We should see if we can find anything that could explain what happened." Kate replied. Apparently they both wanted to look at what's left of the lighthouse. Max looked to Chloe to see her opinion on it.

"Sure, me and Max'll follow you in the truck" Chloe said, making Max's decision for her. Victoria nodded in confirmation as she stood up from the booth.

"I'll pay" She said, happily dropping a few too many notes on the table. Max was about to tell her not to bother, when Chloe pinched her arm. She looked to see Chloe grinning and shaking her head. _It seems Victoria isn't getting off that easily_.

The group followed Victoria out to the parking lot, stopping to giggle when she tripped over the branch in the door again. Kate followed Victoria to Jefferson's scratched and dented car. And Max followed Chloe to her rusty old truck.

* * *

 

Max and Chloe sat in silence. Chloe was probably trying to bottle up her feelings after almost starting to cry at the diner. Max wasn't really thinking about anything, she was too tired. The silence in the truck and the gentle groans of the tired engine were doing nothing to help. She found herself quickly drifting off to sleep.

 **Crack!** The thunder jolted Max awake, she was standing on the familiar path to the lighthouse. Glancing around, she saw she was alone. The rain quickly clouding her vision. _Oh shit! No! No, no, no! Not again! Please not again!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Let me know if the last half of this chapter felt too rushed since I'm not too sure about it.  
> But anyway, feel free to leave kudos and comments and I'll be back next week!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been really busy this week so I haven't had a chance to do any more writing. Due to certain real life things, I'll be changing the update time to the weekend. As in the chapters could be published at any point over Saturday and Sunday, since that's when I'll have the most time for writing. The next update won't be this weekend, but next weekend so I have a chance to get more writing done (hopefully).

Max slowly made her way up the path, hoping for this to be a vision of just a normal storm. But, a part of her knew that it was just wishful thinking. On her way up she had to rewind three times. Once to avoid a collapsing tree and twice to avoid a car that had been thrown by the storm. The storm that Max was now certain was much more than a normal storm.

She reached the lighthouse to find it still standing, completely intact. She kept looking at it as she made her way towards the bench, scared to turn around. _Why am I having this vision again? The storm has already passed_. But eventually she gave in, turning to see the storm. It looked exactly like what she had seen the night before. The storm was closing in on the bay, ready to tear it apart. _This can't be happening again._

Max stood watching for a few moments, until she was distracted by something. A sheet of paper had been blown over and had got caught on the side of the bench. It was the outer page of a newspaper. Max reached out and grabbed it, immediately checking the date. _Friday? But why am I having this vision after it's already happened? Unless... This date is wrong and another storm will be happening soon. If that's true then why is the lighthouse still there? I'll have to talk to Chloe about this later._

Max took a seat at the bench, watching the storm, _so what now?_ She sat, waiting for something to happen. Shouldn't she be waking up now? Unless she was supposed to die and wake up. Or this could be some kind of accidental time jump and she really was sitting there on Friday.

"Max?" A familiar voice came from behind her. She turned to see Chloe kneeling not too far behind her. _What is Chloe doing here? Wait, is that...?_ She was holding an unconscious Max in her arms. _This is when I had that weird dream. So now, I should be_... The Max in Chloe's arms began to move to sit up, regaining consciousness. Neither of the girls had paid any attention to Max sitting there the entire time, so she was shocked to see them both turn to her and smile. A shiver went up her spine. This was so creepy.

"Max?" The same voice again, but this time it echoed around inside her head. "We're there." That confirmed it. Max was waking up. The scene around her began to fade into nothingness as Max's eyes began to blink open.

* * *

"Hey Max! Finally waking up! Did you get enough of your beauty sleep? I-I mean not that you need it or anything!" Chloe stuttered, earning a giggle from Max.

She yawned and stretched out her arms and legs. Smiling at Chloe who was watching her with a glint of admiration in her eyes. There was a knock at the window causing both girls to jump. An annoyed Victoria was standing outside waiting for them. They'd stopped at the base of the trail up to the lighthouse. There were a few people walking around. Max and Chloe stepped out the truck and followed Kate and Victoria's lead. The other people Max could see were all wearing work clothes and were either carrying equipment or chunks of rubble. They were the mysterious helpers.

"I wonder if they're covering something up" Victoria stated as they walked.

"Yeah. Maybe they know something about the storm or the weird force field thing." Kate added.

"Or maybe the lighthouse was scheduled for demolition and nobody knew about it?" Chloe suggested as a joke. The other three girls turned to look at her for a moment. "Okay. I know. Crazy idea." Chloe responded, giving in.

The group reached the small clearing before the final steps to the lighthouse. Max was instantly reminded of her weird vision from just a few moments ago. There were more workers here, some were heading back down to the road, others were heading back up. There was also a small group of the workers standing together, talking. They didn't seem to be doing anything else. "Hey, guys," Max said, causing the others to stop walking, "Why don't we go and ask about what's going on?" She suggested, gesturing to the small group.

"Good idea, Max" Victoria praised, before altering her course and continuing over to them.

As they approached the group, walking side by side, it began to dissipate. Obviously their conversation was done. But as the workers walked away, one person was left standing there. A familiar face smiled at them as he gestured for them to walk over. As if they weren't already walking towards him. Max watched him scan over the girls. She was surprised to see his smile drop, as he winced. This confused her as they stopped in front of him. Max glanced over her shoulder to try and see what he was reacting to. Only to find Victoria, frozen on the spot a few steps behind them. She was glaring evilly at Alex.

"I probably should have told you I'd be here" He stated, still looking at Victoria. This was making everyone feel awkward, as Victoria continued to glare.

They all stood in silence for a few moments, until Victoria finally spoke, "What the fuck are you doing here!?" The familiar bitchy tone had returned with a vengeance.

_It seems that Victoria and Alex already know each other, and I don't think Victoria likes him very much._

There was more silence, until Alex spoke, "I.. Uh.. I'm...on holiday?" Alex said, it sounded like more of a question than a statement.

Victoria scoffed and rolled her eyes, "Fucking ridiculous" she muttered, before raising her voice, "Fuck you!" Then she turned to Kate, lowering her voice, "Come on, I should probably get you back to the hospital before I get arrested for kidnapping." Before Kate had a chance to respond, Victoria turned on her heel and stormed off.

Max, Chloe and Kate, were stunned speechless, Alex just stood there awkwardly. Kate glanced around the group before sighing and walking after Victoria.

Max caught part of something Alex was whispering to himself, "-ll me, she didn't-...-ve mentioned it I-" It was too quiet for her to pick anything else up. It made her feel a little uneasy. Glancing to the side, it appeared Chloe hadn't noticed.

"So what was that about?" Chloe asked, starting off the conversation, "Let me guess, She's your ex and it didn't end well."

Chloe's statement put the smile back on Alex's face as he spoke, with a happier tone than before, "Not even close." He raised his eyebrow, urging them to give another response.

 _Oh, I see. He wants to turn this into a game. In that case_ , "Were you the one that sold her the drugs she used in Rachel's tea? And she somehow blames you for the fail?" Max suggested, She noticed Chloe's fingers twitch at the mention of Rachel.

Alex chuckled at that suggestion, "Interesting... But wrong again."

 "Holy shit!" Chloe exclaimed, "I knew that blonde hair was familiar! She's your sister isn't she?" Max immediately began to notice similarities between Alex and Victoria. The hair colour, similar face shape, she realised that this was probably why he looked familiar when she first saw him.

"Close, but not quite. She's my cousin." He replied, finally telling them, "If you really want to know more, I'll explain another time, I'm a little busy right now." He gestured towards the lighthouse, or at least where it would have been, had it not collapsed.

"Oh yeah! So is this what you were talking about earlier? Something weird? As in the lighthouse collapsing?" Chloe asked, referring to the texts from earlier.

"Kind of-" He began to explain, "The weird thing is that it didn't collapse last night. It should have collapsed about halfway through the storm, but it was too strong, so this morning I decided to check it out. And I found something..."

"Found what?" Max asked.

"I found out that the interior walls of the lighthouse had been lined with 10 millimeter thick steel."

"What?" Max and Chloe exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah. I did some research and it turns out that seven months ago, there was a restoration project set up to reinforce the lighthouse. It was funded by a woman called Jane Doe." At hearing Alex's explanation, Max instinctively looked down at her t-shirt. Something was going on. And somehow, she knew that they were the ones that would have to find out what.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to kudos and comment and I'll be back next weekend, at some point.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy it.

"Who's Jane Doe?" Chloe asked.

"No idea, that's all I know. But I'm busy so I should go" Alex replied, turning to leave.

"Wait! Quick question" Chloe said, she waited for Alex to turn back around before she continued, "You know how we all have a connection between us and shit? I haven't been able to feel it at all. And I don't know why Max can and I can't." Chloe asked. _That's strange, it was really easy for me._ Max noticed Alex's face shift in confusion for a moment.

"What are you... Oh! Yeah, that. Uh, I may have not been completely honest about that..." Alex said awkwardly. What did he mean by that? This was starting to confuse Max.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Max asked, something about this was making her feel a little uneasy, yet again. Max was starting to hate the amount of times she was made to feel uneasy recently.

"Well... you see... I may have slightly, almost made it up..." Alex responded, causing Max and Chloe's eyes to widen. Then they switched to glaring at him, waiting for him to explain, "I'm sorry, but it was the only way to keep Max from stopping me."

"So you lied to us to keep Max from preventing you from pushing me off a cliff?" Chloe said, raising her voice. This had clearly angered her, almost as much as it had Max. Who was unable to say anything to Alex, she was busy thinking. _If he made it up, then what did I feel? How was I able to guess his powers? And how did he guess mine and Chloe's? We didn't even know Chloe had powers yet. So how did he know? There's definitely something more going on here._

Sensing the tension from the two girls, Alex decided that this was probably the best time for him to just leave, "I'll keep looking into Jane Doe and I'll let you know if I find anything." He stated as he turned and walked away.

Max and Chloe headed back to the truck in silence, both of them were angry at Alex for lying to them. Especially Max. _What if it didn't work? I would have let Chloe fall to her death, I would have let her die, again. What if I couldn't rewind afterwards? Then she'd be dead forever. I know he did what he had to do to unlock Chloe's powers, but there are still too many things that could've gone wrong. I've learnt from experience that it's for the best if we don't rely on my powers._

They both jumped into the truck and Chloe turned the key in the ignition before turning to Max, "So, where we going?" She asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder to bring her back to reality.

"I'm too tired to do anything productive, I think we should just head back to yours so I can spend some time relaxing with my girlfriend" Max replied, her frown twisting into a smile as she remembered the events that had taken place in the morning.

Chloe smiled as well as she leaned down and placed a light kiss on Max's cheek, before turning back to the wheel to start driving them back home.

"Chloe, I don't think we can trust Alex. At least not for now. Until we know more." Max said.

Chloe nodded in response, "Yeah, he's hiding something, I'm not sure what it is, but he knows something." Chloe added, " Well.. At least now we know who's behind the mystery helpers"

That statement confused Max, where did they get that information? Had she zoned out and not heard it? "Who?" She asked, causing Chloe to chuckle.

"I thought you would've pieced it together before me. It's Alex. He's Victoria's cousin, so he's a Chase. And he's hiding something, so it wouldn't surprise me if he knew about the storm before it happened" Chloe explained, causing Max to facepalm.

 _Oh god. How did I not realise that? I must be really tired to have missed that. I really need to get some serious sleep_. Max sighed as another thought popped into her head. "Chloe, I had another vision."

"Oh shit! What happened?" Chloe asked, quickly glancing over at Max. After the truck turned a corner, Chloe reached out and took Max's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"It was the storm again. The same storm." Max began to explain.

"Are you sure it's the same? There may be another fucking storm coming."

"No, it's the same. I found the exact same newspaper that was dated Friday, and the lighthouse was still there." 

"Okay, so you just saw the storm again? That's weird, you'd think it would stop showing it to you if it already happened. Maybe it's just a side effect of your power and you're just gonna keep having these visions as long as you have your powers." Chloe suggested, "Was there anything different about this one?"

"I saw us. I saw you kneeling next to another me. Then the other me woke up and they both just looked at me and smiled" Max explained.

"Creepy" Chloe replied, "I definitely don't remember seeing two you's there. So maybe it wasn't a vision and it was just a dream." She suggested.

 "I don't know, it felt too real to be a dream" Max replied.

"Hmm" Chloe's face scrunched up in thought, "Do you think it's your powers trying to show you that it's not over yet?"

"Huh, I guess it could be." Max considered the idea. It did make sense. The truck jerked to a stop, pulling Max out of her thoughts. Glancing up, she saw that they were already back at Chloe's house. She noticed Chloe tense up when she saw another car on the drive. _It seems David has come back. Maybe he can tell us about how much they know from the investigation._

Max and Chloe let go of each other's hands as they got out the truck and slowly walked up to the door. Chloe froze, the key only a few millimetres away from the lock. She cleared her throat and rolled her shoulders, phsycing herself up for what was most likely going to be a very difficult conversation for her. She let out a shaky breath as she turned the key in the lock, Max reached out and gave Chloe's hand a reassuring squeeze before opening the door.

As they stepped in, they heard a muffled sound coming from the living room, probably the TV. It shut off the moment Chloe closed the door. "Chloe, is that you? We need to talk." David said, he sounded tired, which was understandable since he most likely hadn't had any sleep since the bunker incident. The girls walked over to him, he was sitting in his seat in front of the coffee table. As they entered the room, he turned to look at them. His face was blank, void of all emotion, "Sit down. Please." He ordered, it took a moment for him to remember his manners. Max and Chloe both sat next to each other on the couch that was next to David's chair. "I want to know how much you know. I know that you didn't just find the bunker and come straight to me. What did you see? Did you... Did you find the folders? It's... You're not getting into trouble for this. " It was unnerving to see David struggle to find the right wording. Max could feel Chloe slowly start shaking next to her. She knew where this was going. Rachel.

Max decided to lean against Chloe slightly, to try and provide some sort of comfort. Chloe was in no state to give any response that wouldn't be hostile, so Max answered instead, "Yeah, we saw them. W-we saw the pictures. Of..." Max knew it would only make Chloe more uncomfortable if she finished the sentence, David nodded his understanding.

"Then you should know, that at the moment, in the investigation, Rachel is believed to be alive. And she's suspected of murder." David stated, in a monotone voice.

"WHAT?" Both Max and Chloe exclaimed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another mystery, this just keeps getting bigger.  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
> Feel free to comment and kudos.  
> Comment about what you think is going on! I'd love to see if you have any ideas and see what everyone is thinking.  
> Thanks for reading and I'll be back next week.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to split up the story I have planned into an extra section. It won't really change anything other than there will now be 3 stories in the series.  
> You may or may not have noticed, but I have added to the summary of the story and the summary of the series. Please let me know if you think there should be more added or if it could be worded differently to make it sound more interesting.  
> Anyway, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

David sat silently for a few moments, gathering his thoughts. He looked down at his hands in his lap as he started to speak, "We made the same assumptions as you probably did when we saw the pictures in Rachel's folder." David began to explain, Max took Chloe's hand and squeezed. She hoped it was enough to prevent her from speaking out until David had finished. "There was a body found in the junkyard, in the same place as in the pictures. At first we assumed it was Rachel. A forensics team was brought in to verify it and they found that it wasn't her. The body was of a middle aged man, the cops are still looking through missing persons reports to see if he matches any of them, but at the moment they have no idea who he is." _What the hell is going on? If it wasn't Rachel, then where is she?_ "At the moment, the cops think that this man worked for Jefferson and that Rachel escaped by killing him and now she is in hiding. Chloe, if you have any idea where she might be, we need to tell the police" David said.

Chloe tensed up again, clearly annoyed by David's request. Max could tell that David had already asked her about Rachel's location several times. "If I knew where she'd be, I'd have found her already!" Chloe shouted, launching herself out of her seat and storming upstairs. Both David and Max flinched as her bedroom door slammed shut.

Max was still trying to figure out if Chloe's last statement actually meant what she'd intended to say. Before it got too awkward in the living room, Max got up and silently walked up the stairs, she hesitated at Chloe's door when she heard her crying. She entered the room quietly, quickly shutting the door behind her. Chloe lay face down on her bed, Sobbing into her pillow. It broke Max's heart seeing her like this. She went over to the bed and lay on her side next to Chloe, gently placing a hand on her back attempting to soothe her. Chloe turned to face Max, her bloodshot eyes looked deep into Max's soul, begging for comfort. So that's what Max did, she pulled Chloe into a hug and held her as close as possible. Max's heart ached as she felt the shoulder of her shirt getting damp. "M-Max," Chloe mumbled, "Sh-she left me Max. She never t-told me. She d-didn't die. She left. W-without me. Why does everyone keep leaving me?" Max physically felt her heart shatter. She knew she had played a part in making Chloe feel like that, and it only amplified the pain of seeing her like this.

"Its okay, Chloe. I'm here. I came back. I'm never leaving. If I came back, then Rachel might too. It's okay. I'm never leaving your side again. Ever." Max whispered as calmly as possible into Chloe's ear. She managed to surprise herself with the certainty of those words. But it worked, since Chloe was starting to calm down.

"W-what about school? Dumbass. You can't just stop going just to stay with me." Chloe said with her trademark sarcasm.

"No. You're coming with me." Max stated, as if it was obvious. That got a chuckle from Chloe, who had now stopped crying.

"What about when I'm on the toilet? You gonna watch me?" Chloe said, pulling her head away from Max's shoulder so she could see her face. Chloe's eyes were bloodshot and there were tear stains on her face, but there was a hint of a smile, so Max continued.

"Of course" She said.

Chloe chuckled again, this time she smiled. Max smiled back at her girlfriend. "You're such a creep Max" Chloe said, playfully nudging Max's shoulder.

Max was proud with herself for how quickly she was able to make Chloe happy and make her laugh, even with everything she was going through. "But I'm your creep" she said, starting to slip to a playful tone.

"Yeah-no. That's not-..That's even worse." Chloe replied, giggling. She leaned in. Max felt an unexplainable force pull her head forwards. After a few short moments, their lips met.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, they lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, holding hands. They were both tired. This short day had worn them out, both physically and emotionally. Max had almost fallen asleep when Chloe eventually broke the silence, "So, Supermax, shall we put our superpowers and awesome detective skills to good use and get to the bottom of this new mystery?" Chloe asked, "Or, do I lock the door and get to the bottom of something else?"

Max's eyes widened, she felt her cheeks heat up as she turned to look at Chloe. She was wiggling her eyebrows in the least seductive way possible. Max laughed as she replied, "At the moment I'm too tired to do anything. We should try and get a decent nights sleep before starting our investigation."

Chloe pouted, "Fine, but first thing tomorrow we're finding out how my powers work." She suggested.

"That sounds like a good idea, then we won't have to keep relying on my rewind whenever you do something stupid." Max countered playfully. She giggled as Chloe nudged her shoulder.

"Yeah, instead of you undoing it, I can just leave through a big, glowing portal. That totally fixes the problem and won't freak anyone out." Chloe responded sarcastically. Max sighed and rolled her eyes. Silence fell over them again, but it was a comfortable and relaxing silence. 

Max began to think ahead to what they were going to do.  _When we decide to start investigating, where would we start? We know the body we found in the junkyard is some random guy that could have been working for Jefferson, that may have been killed by Rachel. But he could also just be a drug dealer or something like that and just got on the wrong side of somebody. If Rachel had escaped then why didn't she at least text Chloe to say she was alive? She should know better than anyone that Chloe would never give her away and that she'd probably try to help. What else do we know? Alex is acting wierd and can't be trusted, he's Victoria's cousin and he's the one behind the helpers. Like Victoria said, the helpers had to have been organised before it all started. Which means he had to have known about the storm before it happened, how? Maybe he had visions like I did? It's a possibility. We know that, at the moment, Jeffershit is locked up. Shit. What about Nathan? Is he still alive? Was he saved or not? That will probably be the first thing we look into. I also know that, according to my wierd time-mare last night, I'm apparently getting more powerful? What did dream Chloe say? She told me not to use my powers too much until she'd explained how it all worked. What's that supposed to mean? Is she going to show up in another dream and try to teach me quantum physics? Somehow I doubt it_. Max yawned, she looked to the side to see Chloe already asleep, the relaxed look on her face making Max smile. She moved slightly, getting more comfortable and she slowly drifted off to sleep, nestled in Chloe's side with her head resting on her shoulder.

* * *

Darkness had fallen over Arcadia Bay, the last traces of sunlight had fallen past the horizon a few hours ago. The forest was always quiet at night, the only sounds coming from the occasional owl and the few other smaller animals that were active at night. _Snap_. A twig was broken as something stepped on it. It wasn't a small animal, it was a dark figure walking through the forest. It approached a small clearing where another figure waited, this one was taller than the first figure. The first figure spoke once it had reached the other's side, " Did she get the money?" it asked, the voice was clearly female.

The second figure responded, "Yeah. You got the message?" This one was male.

"Of course" the female answered.

The male handed over a thick envelope. "It has to be delivered tonight" He said.

"Has she said anything else?" The female asked, taking the envelope.

"Not really. Only that she hopes that this is what's going to end it" With that, the male figure walked away, across the clearing. The female stood for a few moments, gazing at the stars, before she turned and walked back into the forest, disappearing into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I still feel like the speech isn't right, and to me it feels really awkward. Hopefully as I write more, I'll get better, so I can come back to these chapters and add to them and improve them.  
> Anyway, feel free to leave kudos and comments and I'll be back next week!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might end up not updating next week since its getting harder to write. The plan I have for the story isn't very detailed so it can take a little while to write the chapters that fill the space between bigger plot points. I think I may have to change to updating every other week, but feel like if I do that, I'll only end up updating less and less often until I stop writing entirely. But it may end up being for the best since it would give me more time to write the chapters so it would feel less like I'm rushing the writing and may even make me write better. I guess it will depend on what happens with the next few chapters.

Max glanced around the room. It was the same as before, the dark trench ahead of her and the cement trail behind. She looked down to see the same cement mixer. The urge to rewind came almost immediately this time. She didn't even have time to think about it before her right arm was reaching out, ready to start pulling back on time itself. Before she did, Max went to the back of the cement mixer to look at the cement closest to the truck. This way, she'd be able to see it flowing backwards so she would know how far she had rewound. She focused on her powers and began to force time to flow in the opposite direction.

Max was suddenly standing next to the line of cement, looking to the side, she noticed she was a few meters behind the truck. Max crouched down next to the filled trench for a closer look. _It looks like it's still wet. I wonder if I can_... She reached out her hand towards the cement. She pointed her finger and pushed it into the trench. Max moved her finger around in the thick liquid, once she was happy she removed her finger, finding it to be completely clean and dry. _Well, what did I expect, this is a dream_. She glanced over her handiwork, 'MAX WAS HERE' was messily written in the wet cement. She was about to start walking around and exploring when she felt the ground start to shudder. From where she was, it felt like the epicentre was her tag.

The vibrations increased, surprisingly, her work remained perfectly intact in the still slightly runny cement. It seemed the shaking had reached its peak, it had apparently stopped getting more violent. Max watched as cracks started to form around the writing. They continued to spread, quickly and suddenly continuing down the trench. But they were only going in one direction. Towards the cement mixer. On the other side of Max's work, the cracks only went as far as the writing did. The shaking finally died down, finishing much faster than it had started. The web of cracks appeared to have reached the back of the mixer. Or at least Max thought they had, since they now were around a meter away from it. She hadn't realised it was moving that quickly. It took her a moment to notice that it wasn't moving quickly, but the cracks were fading. By the time the realisation had crossed her mind, the cracks were gone.

She had now also magically teleported back onto the cement mixer. Her tag was still visible and readable from where she was. _So what was the point in that? Was it some sort of wierd life lesson? That I shouldn't mess with things or I'll cause an earthquake and it will leave a temporary mess? Or maybe I just secretly want to tag things and cause chaos and my mind just created this dream to show me that this is what I want. Whatever this is, I definitely prefer it to all the weird time dreams I've had._ Max turned around, Looking to the front of the truck, she noticed that there was something on the floor. She took a few steps towards it to take a closer look. It was a Polaroid. She picked it up, checking both sides, finding it to be completely blank. So Max decided to do what any normal person would do and shook the blank film.

After a moment, she looked it over again. This time there actually was an image, which had appeared out of nowhere. It was a very interesting image, Max could see that a lot of techniques had been used to take the picture. It showed a dark trench, filled with cement. Max looked closer at the image, for a dream, it was very detailed. It almost looked like the cement was actually flowing, but it was starting to get blurry. A red tinge crept in from the sides of the Polaroid. Max focused her eyes on the image and it suddenly disappeared.

Looking up from her now empty hands, Max saw the cement mixer. It was around 200 meters away. She'd been transported along the trench again. _I thought I only made that happen when I rewound. Oh. I jumped back with the photo._ Max approached the trench again, and crouched down beside it. The cement had already dried this far back. Yet she still found herself reaching out to draw in it. She heard a creaking sound coming from the direction of the truck. She glanced over to see if there was anything wrong. There was nothing different that she could see. But when she looked back to the trench, there was a neat outline of a doe engraved into the dried cement. It had apparently been caused by her finger.

The shaking started. It was much more violent this time. Max's heart began to race, this was different. It felt more serious. She felt as if she was in danger. The cracks appeared. They were deeper than before. And they opened wider. They spread quickly over towards the cement mixer. The adrenaline kicked in and Max chased the cracks. Sprinting along the trench. Something was wrong. The cracks quickly passed through Max's writing. As they did, She noticed something change. When she reached the graffiti, she stopped in her tracks. Max stood beside it and read it over and over in her mind, 'RACHEL WAS HERE'. She knew there was something wrong with it, but she couldn't tell what it was. But when she did notice, it hit her like a truck. It now said Rachel, but she wrote Max. _What is this dream even about? What is it trying to show me? Is it related to anyhting or is just a random dream with no hidden meaning?_

There was another creaking sound, it went on for longer this time. She looked over at the cement mixer, which she was now very close to. The cracks had reached directly behind the mixer. _So now they should start to fade, the wet cement will smooth over... But it wasn't wet back over there. What's going to happen now then?_ The flowing cement coming out the back of the truck was increasing in pressure. Instead of slowly flowing out, it was now spraying out. The pressure still steadily increasing, causing yet another creaking sound to come from the cement mixer. The sounds got louder. It wasn't creaking anymore, it was screeching. The main part of the mixer starting to swell. The cracks were still present, showing no signs of fading. Max's survival instinct kicked in and she turned and began to run back in the opposite direction.

The loud screeching was refusing to fade the further away she got, instead only getting louder. Max's ears were aching, her head pounding. _Please just stop_. The moment the thought crossed her mind, it stopped. The eerie silence was suddenly broken by a loud **bang**. Max turned to look. She looked over to the cement mixer to find nothing. There was nothing left. It had apparently exploded. She could see a shockwave heading straight for her. It was destroying the trench as it went. The cement disintegrating. It showed no sign of stopping as Max's doe was erased from existence. Max shut her eyes as the wave hit her. She felt the floor disappear from beneath her. Her ears were now ringing, as she felt her stomach attempt to escape through her mouth. Max could feel gravity shifting around her. Her mind telling her that she was spinning through the air.

She decided to open her eyes. Only to instantly regret it. The only thing she could see was the dark ground. And it was approaching. Extremely quickly. Before she had a chance to close her eyes, her vision went dark with a loud **crack**.

Max opened her eyes, she didn't really remember closing them. She was standing in some kind of field. The only thing visible in her 180 degree field of view was dirt, stretching out into the horizon, not even a single blade of grass in sight. _How did I get here? What's going on?_ Max turned to look behind her. Her heart stopped for almost five full seconds. She almost believed the shock had killed her. She would have preferred it to the way her heart was now aching. Max collapsed to her knees, a sea of tears collecting beneath her. She was sobbing, but she hadn't noticed. Her mind was busy processing what she had seen. It was the literal definition of the end of the world. Max focused on the ground, attempting to clear her head enough to figure out what was happening.

The light was reflecting off something buried in the dirt. Max reached out to grab it. She pulled out a shard of glass. Looking at the ground in the area around her, she noticed more objects. _Maybe they will give me an idea of what happened_. She picked up something else. It was a fragment of a license plate from a car. Looking back down, she saw there was something underneath it. A smell reached Max's nose that had her almost throwing up. It was a familiar smell, one that she wished she had never experienced. She reached out to the object. It was soft, but rigid and strangely cold. She pulled on it. Once she saw what it was, she dived back. Crawling backwards, desperately trying to get away from it. Her brain caught up to the rest of her body and she screamed. Her lungs felt as if she'd shredded them. Her vision was fading, but she couldn't see much anyway with the tears in her eyes. Eventually everything went black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments.  
> I might be back next week or the week after.  
> Let me know in the comments if you have any ideas on what this dream could mean. It would be interesting to see if anyone got it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on, I'll be updating chapters every other weekend. I think it will be for the best, since I'll have more time to focus on school work and more time to think about how the chapter is written. Hopefully it will also mean I'll get ahead with writting.

Max jumped up. She sat on Chloe's bed, drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. She glanced to her side to see Chloe was still sleeping peacefully, although she had a Max shaped sweat patch on her side. Movement in the corner of her eye caused her to jump. Looking up, she saw Chloe sitting at her desk watching her. She giggled, seeing Max glancing between the them, struggling to accept the fact that there were now two Chloes in the room. After a moment, Chloe broke the silence, "I see you took my advice."

Max locked eyes with the Chloe sitting at the desk, trying to think of what she had meant. _What advice? Chloe hasn't given me any advice lately. The last bit of advice I had was in a dream. Oh. I'm still dreaming. That makes a lot more sense. So this is dream Chloe asking me about her advice. Well, she told me to not use my powers too much, which I haven't. So I guess I did follow her advice... Wait. She also told me to tell Chloe how I felt. That's probably the advice she's referring to_. Thinking about her and Chloe being together made Max smile.

"I was actually referring to both pieces of advice." Chloe spoke again, reading Max's thoughts, "But now that you know how it all works, feel free to use your powers as much as you need." She continued.

"What do you mean? I don't know how any of this works." Max asked, confused.

Chloe sighed and spoke, " What did you think that weird dream was about? Did you think you were discovering your cement mixer fetish?" Max shrugged at the question, thinking back to try to find the hidden meaning in the dream, "You see, when people describe timelines, they always seem to talk about rivers and oceans and flowing water. But a much closer analogy would be cement. Hence, the dream."

"So the trench was the timeline" Max said, trying to understand how it linked together with her powers. Chloe nodded, urging her to continue, "And the cement mixer was what? the present?" Chloe nodded again, "So the cement must be stuff that happened." Chloe smiled at her, " But how does all that link to my rewind?"

Chloe's head dropped as she sighed again, "What happened when you rewound?"

"I was sent back along the trench." Max answered.

"You went to a point in the past. Something that had happened recently. Then what happened?" If Chloe was going to explain every step of the dream anyway, Max didnt see much of a point in having the dream in the first place.

"Then I drew in the cement. So I guess that was me changing the timeline?" Max asked, starting to put the pieces together. Chloe nodded as Max continued, "Then the ground shook and the cement cracked. What did that mean?"

"That was the changes affecting the timeline. And then it correcting itself, rewriting to the new changes." Chloe explained.

"Okay, then it all went to normal. So it was what happens when I use my rewind. wha-"

"Its what happens you use your powers to change recent events." Chloe interrupted to correct Max's statement.

"Right. So it works with the photo jump as well?" Chloe nodded. "So What was the second part supposed to represent? I know it was a photo jump. It was further back in time, because I was further away from the truck. The shaking and cracks were the changes happening, but why was it different? And why did it blow up?" Max finished her original question.

"It was an event that happened more than about three days ago. After that point, time sets, like cement. More changes had to take effect so the shaking and cracks were more violent and bigger. The timeline tried to compensate, but it was too much for it to handle. Which is why it blew up. Then the only thing left that could stabilise the space-time continuum was to erase the timeline and start again." Chloe explained.

"So what I saw after that, it was what happens if I make too much of a change?" Max asked, not wanting to think about what she'd seen in the empty field.

"It was what could happen if you go back too far. A best case scenario."

Max's eyes widened, "Best?! But it... How?" That statement had rendered Max speechless.

"Well, worst case would be you tearing a hole in the fabric of reality and causing the universe to collapse in on itself in an instant, ceasing to exist." Chloe continued, ignoring Max's reaction. "What you saw, was what would happen if you went a little to far. You saw what happens when the local timeline erases itself to stabilise everything."

That was when it dawned on Max. When she realised what that really meant, "So, by erasing itself, you mean destroying everything."

"Resetting everything so the timeline can start again, from scratch" Chloe clarified.

"B-but I already went back really far. To save William. Does that mean that...?" Max's heart sank as she'd realised what she'd done.

"No. It got close but you were only there for a few hours before you changed it back." Chloe smiled.

"So was that what the storm was? The timeline stabilising after saving William?" Max asked.

Chloe chuckled and shook her head. "Sorry, but that's all I can say for now." Chloe grinned at Max as she blew a her kiss.

 

* * *

 

Max's eyes opened, she sat up from her position in Chloe's side. Her eyes immediately went to the desk to see an empty chair. Once she had confirmed that there were no longer two Chloes in the room, she glanced back down to the still sleeping Chloe. Unable to stop her smile at the sight of the beautiful girl, sleeping peacefully. Light was coming in through the window, giving Chloe's normally chaotic bedroom a peaceful aura.

Deciding to check the time, Max got up off the bed and walked over to the desk, sitting in the same spot Chloe had been in a few moments ago. She picked up her phone from the desk to see it was seven in the morning. _After everything that happened yesterday, I think it's best I let Chloe get all the sleep she can get_. Galncing at her phone, Max decided to check through her texts, to make sure she wasn't missing anything important. The first text that caught her attention, as she scrolled through the messages, was from Blackwell. There were only two messages in the conversation. The first one had been the one informing her that she had been accepted into the academy. The second one had been sent early last morning, after the storm.

 **Blackwell** : Due to recent events, there will be no classes this week, the Prescott dormitories will also be closed to students for the next few days. Any students that do not have alternative accommodation nearby should contact Blackwell Academy using this number so that we can organise temporary sleeping arrangements. Any students in need of belongings inside the dormitories are to go to reception so a member of staff can collect the items safely. For the moment, only important or essential items can be retrieved, any unreasonable requests will be dismissed. Thank you. Principal Wells.

  _Well, that's good to know. I guess it means I'll be sleeping with Chloe for a few more days_. Max smiled at the thought, until she realised the way she worded it in her head, causing her heart rate to increase slightly. She glanced back down at her phone, to distract herself from her thoughts.

She'd received some nice messages from everyone she knew asking if she was okay. Max had already replied to them all the previous day, but she decided to spend the time reading them while waiting for Chloe to wake up. As she read through them, another one caught her eye.

 **Victoria** : Kate is safe with me. I'm sorry. The world is apparently ending so I thought I'd let you know that I think your pictures aren't _too_ bad and that it's okay to be a hipster.

Max rolled her eyes. From the time on the message, it had been sent during the storm. _At least she tried to be nice_. She typed a reply.

 **Max** : How kind...

It was barely a few minutes until she had a reply.

 **Victoria** : Shut up

 **Victoria** : If you even think about telling someone about that message, I will end you.

The second message came almost immediately after the first. Reading it made Max giggle. _It seems Kate hasn't completely tamed Victoria_. There was a groan from the bed drawing Max's eyes over to Chloe. She was still asleep, but in the process of waking up. Max crept over to her and woke Chloe up with a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments.  
> I'll be back in two weeks!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've reread what I've written so far and I'm going to start putting Max's thoughts in quotation marks, since putting them in italics isn't that clear, at least from the way I'm reading it. I'll try it in this Chapter, so please let me know if it's better or worse.  
> I won't be changing the earlier chapters, since I won't be changing anything until after the story is finished. That way, if a later chapter means I'll need to change an earlier chapter I will only need to change it once. If that makes sense.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

“So, I've been thinking-” Chloe started.

“Uh oh” Max interrupted, grinning at Chloe. Max and Chloe sat together eating breakfast just like they had done the previous morning. Joyce had left earlier in the morning to go to work at the Two Whales and David was still sleeping since he probably hadn’t slept in two days and Blackwell was closed.

Chloe kicked Max’s shin under the table as she continued with want she wanted to say, “I was just wondering about my powers. Remember during the storm how drained we all were?” Max nodded, curious about what Chloe was thinking about, “You and Alex were so drained. You knocked out and he was barely conscious. I was pretty drained but I could still basically carry both of you back down and drive home. I was thinking it might have something to do with me only just unlocking my powers.”

“I think I understand what you mean. When I first rewound, it felt like I could keep going forever. I didn’t feel any strain or barriers like I do now. The only reason I stopped rewinding was because I had no idea what was going on and it scared me.” Max explained.

“Huh. Maybe it’s because we’d never used the energy before, and the source of it was full when we unlocked our powers.” Chloe suggested. ‘ _That does make sense and it explains how Chloe had more energy than me and Alex_.’ “Anyway,” Chloe continued speaking, “Lets clean this shit up and go portal... portal-ing?... Teleporting?... Portal hopping?”

Max giggled as she finished off her last strip of bacon, she stood up and took her plate into the kitchen, Chloe following close behind.

The girlfriends cleaned their plates, put on their shoes and Chloe grabbed her jacket and keys before locking the door as they left the house. Chloe hopped into the drivers seat and stretched across to open the passenger door for Max. “So, where do we go to test your powers?” She asked as she sat down and shut the door.

“Well, I- I... Not the junkyard.” Chloe muttered, the smile she’d been wearing since she woke up, fell from her face.

“We could go to the woods? Or maybe check out the lighthouse, see what it’s like without the, uh, lighthouse” Max suggested, frowning at how she worded it. But smiled when she heard Chloe giggle, her smile had returned.

“Lighthouse sounds good.” Chloe nodded, putting the key in the ignition. The truck sputtered as it usually did. But the engine decided not to run. Chloe sighed as she tried again, the truck refusing to work. “Come on!” Chloe exclaimed, starting to get annoyed. She tried again... And again... And again. “Shit!” She shouted, slamming her fists into the steering wheel. Max reached out and took Chloe’s hand, giving it a squeeze. Max felt her begin to relax. “It’s okay, I can fix this.” Chloe said, more to herself than to Max.

“I have a better idea.” Max said, gaining Chloe’s interest, “You can fix the truck later. We don’t need a truck to get to the lighthouse, we have you.” Max explained, causing Chloe to grin.

The girls jumped out the truck, Max took Chloe’s hand and led her back to the door. Chloe opened it and let Max step in, before closing it behind her. Max then pulled her through the house and into the garden. “Why are we out here?” Chloe asked when Max finally stopped dragging her.

“If we're going to use your powers, then we should do it outside, just in case. And it’s probably not a good idea to do it in front of all your neighbours.” She explained.

Chloe nodded, “Okay, so... Lighthouse...” Chloe muttered to herself, reaching out her left hand, keeping a firm grip on Max’s hand with her other. She squeezed her eyes shut. A look of intense concentration spread across her face. She tensed up.

Max watched as she stood there, looking like an idiot for a few minutes before she decided to interrupt. “Chloe, stop. Try something different.” Max suggested.

Chloe sighed as she nodded, lowering her hand, “Okay, why don’t you tell me what to do, see if you can help me with your experience.” Max smiled and nodded.

“Close your eyes.” Chloe turned to face forwards, closed her eyes and reached out her hand, “Focus on how you remember it felt the first time you did it. Picture it in your mind and focus on it.” They waited for a few moments, but nothing happened. Max sighed, she knew exactly what Chloe was doing wrong, “Chloe, maybe try picturing it without the lighthouse, since its not there anymore.”

Chloe grinned, “Oh, yeah. I forgot.” She chuckled. Then, after a moment, she sighed, “It’s still not doing anything.”

‘ _Why is it not working? This should be it shouldn’t it? Unless there’s something I’m missing_.’ She thought back to when she saw Chloe first using her powers. “Oh! Do the energy thing Alex told us to do. But push the energy to the area in front of us.” Max suggested.

Chloe took a deep breath. Blue wisps of energy began to swirl around her outstretched hand. Max couldn't help but smile as it began to flow out in front of them. She watched as the energy gathered at a single point, the energy glowing brighter as more went into it. Then it began to expand, tearing open space itself. On the other side, Max could see the same spot they had stood the previous night during the storm.

Chloe opened her eyes, “Holy shit!” she gasped. She glanced over at Max, whose smile grew wider at the sight of the beautiful girl looking back at her, Chloe’s pure blue eyes were like a portal into her own soul. Max couldn’t look away.

Chloe grinned and stepped up to the portal, pulling Max with her. The portal had stopped growing, it was high enough for Chloe and wide enough for the two of them to step through. "Ready?" Chloe asked, glancing at Max. She nodded, her heart was racing.

Chloe stepped through. Max instinctively took a deep breath and held it. As she stepped through, she could feel the change. She looked around to see the energy stop flowing out of Chloe’s hand and the portal slowly collapse in on itself, she had to remind herself to breathe as she let out the breath she had been holding.

Max looked around, her brain struggling to keep up, it was telling her that everything was wrong. It felt as though the world around her had turned. ‘ _It must be because both sides of the portal were facing different directions. When I stepped through, I was probably turned around without actually turning around. Dog, that felt so weird_.’

“You okay?” Chloe asked, still holding her hand, looking concerned.

“Yeah sorry, I just got a little disoriented.” Max replied, Chloe’s expression changed to a look of confusion.

“I have literally no idea what you mean.” Chloe said.

“Really? How can that not make you feel weird?” Max asked.

Chloe shrugged, “Maybe it’s ‘cause it’s my power,” She suggested, “Do you ever feel weird when you rewind?”

“I- No, actually.” Chloe’s reasoning made a lot of sense to Max when she thought about it, “I never really thought about it before. It should feel weird when I rewind, but it just doesn't. It feels almost normal.”

Chloe smiled, “Doing this kinda felt normal to me, but it was different from last time. It was a lot harder, it felt like I had to force it open, instead of it just happening, and I could feel the distance.” Max thought about what Chloe had explained, it was similar to the second time she had rewound. She had felt the barrier and the strain. She could also feel the time flowing backwards, she guessed it was similar to the way Chloe said she felt the distance. **  
**

They stepped over to where the lighthouse used to be. It appeared the relief team had cleared away the debris, the only thing left was the foundation of the building. Looking at what was left, Max thought about the memories she had here, mostly from when she was younger. The lighthouse was one of the things that had always been there, even if it was only in the background, now it was gone. It made Max realise that her and Chloe's lives had changed and they were never going to be 'normal' again. It was time for them to be responsible and act like adults, ' _Maybe even like superheroes_ '.

Max glanced up at Chloe to see her staring off into the distance, she was probably thinking the same. Chloe turned to Max with a look of determination, her whole body had tensed up. Her blue eyes glistened, as if she was fighting to prevent herself from crying. "We have to find out what really happened to Rachel."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments.  
> I feel like updating every two weeks is improving my writing since I have longer to write and think about what's going to happen. I don't know if it's noticeable or it's just changing how confident I am with my writing, so feel free to let me know what you think about fortnightly updates.  
> I'll be back in two weeks!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! 20 chapters and over 30k words!  
> I know it's probably not much, but this is the most I've ever written for a story!  
> Hopefully I can keep writing and actually finish this. Since I haven't ever really finished a story before.

Chloe's arm was draped over Max's shoulder, Max's arm wrapped around Chloe's waist, as they struggled up the stairs. As they reached the top, almost all of Chloe's weight was on Max, her legs growing weaker by the second. They struggled through the door into Chloe's room, they had almost reached the bed when Chloe passed out. Her body going limp caused Max to slip, both of them collapsing in a heap on the floor at the foot of the bed.

Max managed to lift Chloe, pulling her onto the bed and taking off her boots. She then slumped down next to her, leaning against the headboard.

After going to the lighthouse, Chloe managed to take them all around the bay. Her nose had started to bleed so they decided to go back home, creating all the portals had drained Chloe. She was going to be out for a while. 'At least n _ow we know that Chloe can't go somewhere she hasn't been before, she also needs to know where the place she's going is, in relation to where she is. And I think it was six portal trips before she got a nosebleed. But that might not matter since it might be the distance that drains her energy and not the number of portals, we should test that out next time._ '

Max glanced over at Chloe and smiled, she looked really cute when she was unconscious... Max shook her head to try and clear her thoughts. Chloe always looked cute, whether she liked it or not.

Max jumped when her leg vibrated. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the new message, thankful for the distraction before her thoughts could go any further.

 **Kate** : Hi Max, I need your help with something, could you come and meet me outside the two whales in five minutes?

 **Max** : Of course! see you there!

She replied almost immediately. Max checked the time, it was 2pm. If she left soon, there would be a bus that could get her to the diner in time. She jumped off the bed and walked over to the door, slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder. But before she opened it, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder. She sighed. She should at least leave Chloe a note so she won't worry about her. She glanced over at the desk, scanning it for something she could use. Something caught her eye, her face twisted into an evil grin.

* * *

 

She hopped off the bus when it arrived at the diner to see Kate standing near the door, waiting patiently. Smiling when she saw Max, Kate waved her over, as Max approached, her stomach decided to remind her she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. Kate giggled as she heard it, "Do you want to get something to eat first? I havent had lunch yet either." She suggested.

"Good idea, I'm dying for some two whales waffles" Max replied, causing Kate to giggle again.

"I've never actually eaten here before, is their food good?" Kate asked.

"The best." Max replied with a smile. They stepped up to the door, it was obvious that it was different, but the new door still fit in with the aesthetic. Max was glad to see the branch had been removed, smiling to herself at how Victoria managed to be the only one to trip over it, twice. Inside the diner, it seemed everything was back to normal. There were people sitting along the bar and at some of the tables, Max immediately spotted Joyce talking to another waitress in the back. As they made their way to the usual table, Max could see that there was still some damage. Scratches and marks covered the seats and tables, but everything was obviously clean and sanitary, ' _Thanks to me and Chloe_ '.

The moment they sat down across from each other, Joyce noticed them and headed over with some fresh coffee. "Good afternoon ladies, what can I get you two to eat?" She asked politely. Max asked for the waffles and Kate decided to go with the same, since she wasn't sure what to order. "So, let me guess, is Chloe still in bed?" Joyce asked with a knowing smile.

"Well, she did get up for breakfast, but she went back to sleep after." Max replied, grateful for the fact that she was able to lie convincingly.

Joyce sighed, "At least you're up and doing something productive, you have my permission to drag her around with you as long as you don't get in trouble."

Max chuckled as Joyce walked away, feeling a little bad for saying Chloe had done nothing when she had passed out from the exhaustion of using her powers. She turned to Kate, "So what do you need my help with?" Max asked.

Kate glanced up at Max for a second, before lowering her head to look at her hands resting on the table, sighing as she did so. Max noticed how the smile had dropped from her face, ' _Somethings wrong. From the look on her face, whatever she wanted my help with isn't good. If she needed help, why didn't she ask Victoria? She'd probably do anything to keep Kate happy after what she did._ '

"Did Victoria do something?" She asked Kate, deciding to go with the obvious connection.

"No" Kate replied, looking up from her hands.

"Here you go ladies." Joyce announced as she placed their meals in front of them, making Max jump. Kate and Joyce chuckled at her reaction, once she was sure she wasn't having a heart attack, Max joined in laughing at how oblivious she was when she was thinking. "Don't worry about paying for any of this, think of it as a thanks for helping out the other day." Joyce said, once the laughing died down.

"Thank you, Joyce." Max replied, as Joyce stepped away to serve someone else. She looked over at Kate to see her already digging into her food. ' _I think it's best if I don't ask her about what I'm helping with until after we've finished._ ' Max decided to talk about something else, "So, where is Victoria anyway? I didn't think she'd be letting you out of her sight so soon."

That comment earned a smile from Kate, "I asked her to go and make sure Alice was okay."

' _Shit! I was supposed to be looking after her. She's still in my dorm room, I completely forgot about her! What if she was killed in the storm?_ ' Max immediately felt guilty for forgetting, "I'm so sorry Kate, I completely forgot, I should've made sure she was okay. She probably hasn't been fed for almost two days!"

"It's okay, Victoria is looking after her. I understand, we've all been a little distracted lately." Kate said calmly, looking up at Max. She looked into Kate's golden eyes, the reflection of the sunlight making it look like they were shinning. Max felt the guilt disappear, Alice was safe and Kate wasn't upset with her. ' _Huh. I swear I remember Kate's eyes being hazel. The storm has probably messed with my head._ '

Max decided to change the subject, "So, what happened yesterday, after you left?" She asked.

"Victoria took me back to the hospital, she managed to sneak me back in before anyone noticed I was gone. They were still dealing with the confusion of the storm. My family visited for a while and I was discharged." Kate explained, smiling.

"Didn't your parents want you to go back home with them?" Max asked.

Kate nodded, "I managed to convince them that I should stay here."

Another question crossed Max's mind, "If you weren't with your parents then where did you sleep last night? The dorms are closed."

Kate blushed, she took a moment before she answered, "Victoria asked me to sleep with her." She stated. Max's eyes widened as she almost choked on her food, Kate's cheeks reddened even further as she realised what she had said, "I- I mean, sh-she offered me the spare bed in her hotel room."

Max nodded as she finished her final mouthful, glad she hadn't choked to death. "So is that what Blackwell is doing? Getting hotel rooms for anyone who needs it?" She asked.

"I think so, but Victoria complained about the small rooms so she paid for a bigger one. It happened to have a spare bed so she offered it to me." Kate explained, she smiled, "You were right, the food was great. I should come here more often."

Max saw that they had both finished, so moved back to her original question, "So what are we going to be doing Kate?" She asked, trying to sound soothing to help make it easier for Kate to explain.

"I... I- I want to see him." She stated.

Max's heart sank, "Who?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"I want to see Jefferson."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wonder how badly that is going to go...  
> You'll just have to wait for the next chapter!  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve written a little ahead and realised that the timelines for the individual Max and Chloe parts don’t add up. So just imagine that in between each scene change with Max and Kate a few minutes pass. I've moved some of Chloe's parts to a little later on so the difference isn't as noticeable.

Max and Kate sat in silence on the bus. They didn’t have anything to talk about, both of them were thinking about what they were about to do, and what they would say. Max was struggling to prevent her thoughts from drifting back to the dark room, fortunately her phone drew her attention away from the huge mistake she was about to make. Max checked the message.

 **Chloe** : Thanks for the note, have fun!

 **Chloe** : I'm going to work on the truck

Max smiled, chuckling at the fact that Chloe hadn’t realised what she’d done. She decided to give her girlfriend a hint.

 **Max** : Did you like the emoji? ;)

 **Chloe** : What emoji???

Max giggled, imagining Chloe’s reaction.

 **Chloe** : Max??

 **Chloe** : Seriously, what did you do??

Max saw that they were approaching their stop, so she muted her phone and put it back in her pocket. She smiled at Kate as she put her own phone in her pocket, both of them now in slightly happier moods. The bus pulled to a stop, the girls got up and jumped off. The happier moods instantly fading. They were as mentally prepared for this as they possibly could be, Max hoped it would be enough to handle seeing Jefferson again.

Once the bus pulled away, the girls crossed the road and walked up to the police station. Max expected it to be harder to get to talk to Jefferson, but Officer Berry, the only one there, led them in, no questions asked. From the way he acted, Max guessed that since his arrest, a lot of people would have come to visit Jefferson, especially due to his fame in the art world. As the Officer led them through the station, a question jumped into Max's head, "What happened to Nathan?" She asked.

"Prescott lawyers got him out and into therapy, since he's mentally ill, he can't be held responsible for his actions." Berry answered.

His reply made Max wonder why they hadn't got Jefferson released as well. ' _Maybe there's too much evidence or it's too big for the Prescott's to get him out of it._ ' "I thought they'd get Jefferson out as well." Max voiced her thoughts.

"Actually, Sean's trying to blame Nathan's condition on him." He explained. They reached a set of windowless double doors. Officer Berry pushed them open allowing the girls to step into the room. "Just don't get too close." he instructed as he stepped back, letting the door slam shut behind them, leaving the two of them on their own to walk down the narrow corridor.

There were six cells, three on each side, they looked like typical jail cells, with bars seperating them from the corridor, allowing the two girls to see into them from the front. All the cells were empty, except for the one at the back on the left.

Max and Kate approached the cell slowly. As they got closer, Max could feel the fear and anger build up inside her. They stopped outside his cell, standing side by side, looking through the bars. Max felt a lump forming in her throat which was now unbelievably dry, the moment her eyes fell on him, she immediately felt sick.

Mark stood in the cell, facing the far wall, away from them. He wore the same clothes he'd been wearing that night, but his tie and shoes had been taken away. ‘ _Something tells me Jefferson isn’t the kind of person to kill himself with his shoelaces after getting caught._ ’ He was standing tall, back straight, like he was proud of himself. Looking at the back of his head, it was obvious that his hair was a mess. He began to chuckle to himself. The girls immediately tensed up, Max glanced over at Kate to see her glaring at the back of his head. “Well,” he spoke, “Max, Kate, have you come to ask about the next shoot?” He chuckled again, clearly finding himself funny.

“W-why?” Kate asked, her hands shaking. The reflection of the sun, from the only window in the room, made Kate's golden eyes look like they were shinning again. Her gaze hadn’t moved from the back of his head.

Mark turned around, glancing at the two girls. With a smirk on his face, he began to take a step closer to them. He locked eyes with Kate. He froze. The smirk dropped from his face. Tears began to flow down his cheeks. The shine in Kate’s golden eyes getting brighter.

‘ _Holy shit!_ ’

And that’s when Max finally put the pieces together.

* * *

 

The light shining through her eyelids began to pull Chloe back to consciousness. Her eyes blinked open as she stretched her arms above her head. She took a moment to wake up properly, staring at the ceiling. That was when she saw it. At first she thought her powers were blinding her. A big square of blue blocking the centre of her vision. She almost had a heart attack, until she realised what it really was. She reached up and peeled the blue post-it note from her forehead, glancing at the front to see Max’s handwriting. It took a moment for her to focus on the note before she could read it.

_Sorry, Kate needed help with something so I went out to help. I’ll text you when I can, let me know when you wake up. xoMaxo_

Chloe smiled at the note, ‘ _Max, you are so fucking adorable._ ’ Chloe pulled on her boots before hopping off the bed, and she walked over to her desk to glance out the window. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and let Max know she got the note.

 **Chloe** : Thanks for the note, have fun!

Her eyes were drawn to the truck sitting on the drive, Chloe sighed, remembering that it needed fixing.

 **Chloe** : I’m going to work on the truck

 **Max** : Did you like the emoji? ;)

Chloe grabbed the note again and scanned through it, she didn’t see any emojis.

 **Chloe** : What emoji???

‘ _What is she talking about? Does she mean the one she used in the text? No, that wouldn’t make much sense._ ’

 **Chloe** : Max??

She flipped the note over in her hand, the back was completely blank.

 **Chloe** : Seriously, what did you do??

Max hadn’t replied.

 **Chloe** : Answer me!!!

“God dammit, Max" She muttered out loud, putting her phone back in her pocket. Chloe sighed, she turned and headed to the bathroom to freshen up.

She went to the toilet and washed her hands. She was about to wash her face when she saw it. Chloe burst into hysterical laughter, ‘ _I am so gonna kill you Caulfield._ ’ She glanced back into the mirror to take a closer look. Max had used a bright pink highlighter, and had drawn a smiley face on one cheek and a heart on the other. She groaned as she washed her face, making sure that she removed all trace of the pink markings.

Chloe made her way to the kitchen, guided by her grumbling stomach. She opened the fridge and grabbed the first few things she saw. She made her way over to the couch and turned on the TV, the local news channel flashing up on the screen. Chloe was about to change the channel when she realised what they were talking about, deciding instead to keep watching. There was a scientist attempting to explain the storm. ‘ _Good luck._ ’

“-pollution, the acidity in rainwater has been rising at an alarming rate. From what we’ve seen, and descriptions from eyewitnesses of the storm. What people were claiming to be a protective dome was probably just a rainbow.” The man explained.

“I don’t know what kind of rainbows You’ve been looking at, but they tend to consist of more than three colours.” The female newscaster joked.

Chloe and the scientist chuckled at the comment, “Well, when the acidity of water increases, so too does it’s refractive index. So, when the light refracts in the raindrops, it could easily shift the colours of the rainbow to either ends of the spectrum of visible light. Making it appear to consist mostly of blues, greens, reds and pinks.” He explained.

“Huh, cool. But what about the huge fucking tornado?” Chloe asked the screen.

“So, doctor, how would you explain the giant tornado?” The newscaster repeated Chloe’s question.

“Well, that one is a little easier. Due to global warming, we have seen a 600% increase in the number of tornadoes across America over the past few years. Tornadoes have also been reported in areas that have never had them before. So it is entirely possible, and getting increasingly likely for tornadoes of that size to be appearing. The reason Arcadia Bay was not wiped off the map, was because the storm grew too big, too quickly. Just like many of the other storms across the country, it died out quickly and fortunately, it failed to do that much damage.” The scientist explained.

‘ _Wait, there were more storms like the one here? So that means that Max might not have caused it. But there is definitely something more going on with the storm, there is no way it was normal._ ’ Chloe finished eating and turned off the TV, taking a moment to take in what she had just learned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	22. Chapter 22

Chloe headed outside to her truck, closing the front door behind her. ‘ _Please don’t be broken for good this time. Please be a simple fix._ ’ She lifted open the hood of the old truck and fixed the hood prop in place, to prevent it from closing on her head... Again.

She checked the oil, water and brake fluid, finding no problems. Then Chloe scanned over the electronics, careful not to shock herself on the old worn down wiring. Again finding no problems, other than the parts being extremely old. She checked over the engine itself, doing as much as she knew how to. Chloe leaned in, taking a closer look at some of the parts further back, trying to find the problem. She’d practically climbed into the engine. Eventually giving up, she sighed, climbing back out of the engine. _Crack!_ “Shit!” She shouted, cracking her head on the hood of the truck, “Every fucking time!” Chloe muttered to herself, even more annoyed than she was before.

She was about to go to slam the hood back down when she noticed something. There was an envelope. It was taped on top of the manual she had taped underneath the hood when she’d first decided to fix up the truck. ' _What the fuck?_ ' Chloe hesitantly reached out and took it, ' _How did it even get there?_ ', she unhooked the hood prop and slammed the hood down heading back inside with the envelope in her hand.

She looked over the envelope, it looked like any other ordinary white envelope, but it was obvious that there was something inside. Chloe opened it and emptied the contents onto the dining table. Her eyes immediately widened. She took a step back and shook her head, ' _I have to be hallucinating, this can't be real._ ' She looked over the pile of cash that had fallen out the envelope. Chloe's eyes focused on a small piece of paper half hidden in the pile. She carefully reached for it, trying to avoid touching the money, deciding it to be best to avoid getting her fingerprints on it. Pulling it out, she unfolded it to see someone had written a message.

_Get the truck fixed. Properly. You'll need it._

Chloe's breathing hitched, her heart rate increasing. The handwriting was familiar. ' _Rachel? It can't be. Why did she write this? Why the fuck should I listen to her after she abandoned me? She didn't even give a reason. She just had to be dramatic and cryptic as fuck._ ' She continued staring at the note for a while. She didn't know how long, but she was broken out of her thoughts by a tear hitting the paper in her shaking hands. She snapped back into reality and gathered the money and note into a pile, struggling to keep her hands steady. Chloe shoved it back in the envelope and stuffed it in her back pocket, she had to talk to Max before doing anything. At least then, if it was a wrong move, they could undo it. Hopefully.

Chloe jumped when her leg vibrated. She pulled the phone from her pocket, happy to see the message was from Max.

 **Max** : Two Whales. NOW!

Chloe chuckled, it seemed they both had something to talk about. She put her phone back in her pocket and grabbed her jacket on the way out. 

* * *

 

Mark Jefferson had collapsed to his knees, sobbing in his cell. Kate stood watching, tears streaming down her own cheeks. Her whole body shaking. And Max had frozen. Her brain unable to accept what she was seeing. Of all the things Max had imagined happening, all the ways this could have gone, she would never have even considered the possibility of this happening. The sound of Mark mumbling something forced her brain to start working again. Max focused on what he was struggling to say. "Sean's going t-to kill me. Why d-did I-I have to fuck it up? Th-There's nothing I can do. I-I'm just waiting to die. N-nothi-" His sobbing grew to the point that he could no longer talk.

Max took this as her cue to get Kate to stop doing whatever it was she was doing. As much as she enjoyed watching him suffer, it was probably best to stop Kate from straining herself. She reached out and put her arm around Kate, pulling her into a hug. Kate began to hug back, her shaking starting to die down. Max started to pull her back down the corridor towards the door. As they seperated to walk together, Max glanced at Kate's eyes. They were still glowing slightly. Looking at them, Max could feel her heart speeding up. She was unable to stop her mind jumping into images of Jefferson escaping and drugging them both again, she was unable to stop herself from staring to feel small, weak and scared. As quickly as the thoughts came, they disappeared. Max noticed that Kate had turned away, "I'm sorry." She mumbled. Max took her hand and they left the station, thanking Officer Berry on the way out.

Once they were back outside, Max was able to take a deep breath and try to work out the best way to explain it all to Kate. "What's happening to me? I-I'm cursed. I-I'm a... a f-freak!" Kate exclaimed, starting to shake again.

"No! You're not a freak, Kate." Max immediately reacted, taking Kate's hands and pulling her to a bench against one of the walls of the station, "You're special Kate." Kate had calmed down, but still looked scared, staring at her hands resting in Max's. "You're not the only one that's different."

Kate looked up at Max with wide eyes, "Are you saying that-?" She began to ask, but Max cut her off.

"I know you have a lot of questions, but it's going to take a while to explain and I'd rather not do it right here. Why don't we go back to the diner for some tea?" Max suggested.

Kate sighed, but nodded her understanding. They both got up from the bench and began walking back towards the diner. There wouldn't be another bus for a while and it was only a ten minute walk. As they walked together, Max pulled out her phone. ' _I need to call for backup_ '

 **Max** : Two Whales. NOW!

* * *

 

Chloe sighed as she collapsed into her usual seat in the diner. She was slightly out of breath, it had been a while since she'd had to walk anywhere, she'd gotten used to driving her truck to get around. Looking out the window next to her, Chloe watched a bus drive past, causing her to sigh again, realising that her and Max would have to rely on public transport and walking to get everywhere until she could get the truck fixed. She saw movement in the corner of her eye and glanced over to see Joyce approaching the booth. The woman smiled at her daughter, taking a seat opposite her, "I see you finally got out of bed. Max told me how lazy you've been this morning." Joyce said.

"What?...Oh, yeah" Chloe replied, quickly realising that Max couldn't have told Joyce what they had really done. ' _She could have at least told mom I was doing something productive.... But, I guess she had to stick with something that was actually believable._ '

Joyce chuckled, "Now, let me guess, you're here for another free meal."

"Nah, I just ate. I'm here because Max asked me to meet her here." She explained.

Joyce leaned back and raised her eyebrows, "So no free food?"

Chloe grinned, "Well, Now that you mention it..." She leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "Just kidding. But I think I could use a coffee. So I can.. you know... wake up and stuff." Joyce smiled and nodded, getting up from the table.

She wasn't going to order anything, but Max's text had popped back into her mind. It sounded serious, so she decided that she might need something to give her mind a boost so she'd be prepared for anything.

A mug was placed on the table directly in front of her. "Thanks" She said, as Joyce sat back down again.

"Chloe. I- " Joyce sighed, gaining Chloe's full attention. She immediately sat up straight and waited for her mother to continue. " David is coming over later. Don't worry, he won't be stopping the night, it's just to talk. Now, I know he isn't your favourite person, and I want to avoid another argument. so-"

"So you're kicking me out." Chloe stated, getting annoyed that Joyce was still even talking to step-douche. She slumped back in her seat, sighing.

"It's not like that, I just-" Joyce tried to explain but Chloe interrupted.

"It's fine, it's not like I actually want to see him ever again. I'd rather live on the streets than be in the same building as him." Chloe snapped. She turned her head to look out the window again.

"Chloe..." Joyce pleaded, sighing when she realised she wasn't going to get anything else out of her daughter. She stood from her seat and went to check on other customers.

Chloe sat forward, resting her head on her hand. ' _Fuck! I really need to stop doing that. Max told me that David does actually care about me. I'm just too used to hating him. I wonder if Max will mind if I stay in her dorm tonight, I don't think I can handle going back home today..... Shit! The dorms are closed! It looks like we're going to have to talk to Step-dick._ '

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels like it might be a little rushed and it jumps around a bit, let me know if you think it might be a better idea to rearrange the last two chapters to have one Chloe chapter and one Max chapter instead of switching between them.  
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	23. Chapter 23

Max pushed open the door to the Two Whales, holding it open for Kate, who was following close behind. She smiled as she stepped past Max. She had calmed down since the Jefferson incident, but she was still a little bit nervous since Kate still had no idea what was going on.

Max immediately spotted Chloe's blue hair and the girls joined her at the table. Chloe couldn't help but smile at Max when she sat opposite her, sliding up to the window so that Kate could sit down next to her. The three sat in silence for a few moments, before Chloe decided to find out why Max asked her to meet them there, "So, what's the emergency?"

Kate shifted uncomfortably, looking down at her hands in her lap, as if she was ashamed. Max put her hand on Kate's shoulder and looked at Chloe as she replied, "Kate has powers."

Chloe's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, "No fucking way!" she exclaimed slightly too loudly, "Shit." She glanced around the diner, making sure she hadn't drawn any unwanted attention, before turning back to the others with a mischievous grin. "So what can she do? Oh! I bet she glows in the dark!" Chloe said, excitedly.

"I don't know, but she made Jef-" Max cut herself off, Chloe gave her a confused look, she didn't know what Max and Kate had done. Max sighed and started again, "We went to see Jefferson."

Chloe glanced between the two of them with a blank expression, as if she was expecting it to be a joke. " You okay? Shit. Did Kate kill him?" Chloe asked, getting concerned.

"She made him cry" Max stated.

"What? But... how... why... he... what?" Chloe stuttered.

Chloe's response made Kate smile, finally starting to relax. "I think Kate might be able to... make people... feel things?" Max suggested, "I looked into her eyes while she was still using her power and I just felt really scared until she looked away."

"Huh. That could be fun" Chloe replied, thoughtfully, "So seeing Jeffershit triggered her powers?"

"I'm not sure, I thing her eyes w-" Max started to explain but was cut off by Kate.

"Oh no. No no no. Th-the roof" She murmured.

"Kate?" Max leaned over and put her arm around Kate, "What about the roof? what- Wait. Did you get your powers when you were on the roof?"

Kate nodded, " Please don't hate me." She stated.

"How could we hate you, Kate? You're an amazing person." Chloe responded instantly, leaning forward to put her hand on Kate's.

"I-I forced you to feel things" Kate replied quietly.

"It's fine, I'm sure you never meant to, and whenever you may have done it, it wasn't anyhting that hurt us." Max said, pulling Kate against her slightly. "How about me and Chloe start telling you what we know." Max suggested, changing the subject. Chloe nodded in response, looking to Max to lead the conversation since she was unsure on how much of the truth to use. Kate looked up at both of them, a small smile on her face, she leaned back, relaxing into her seat.

Max decided to start at the beginning, Kate sat in silence listening as Max recounted the events that had occurred in the past week. She didn't go into too much detail, instead summarising key events and conversations. Chloe occasionally butted in to make a comment about how something was cool or unfair. Halfway through Max explaining what happened when she photo jumped to save William, Joyce had walked over to take their orders. Luckily she didn't seem to hear anyhting, or if she did she hadn't thought anything of it. Max continued with her story, skimming over the events in the dark room. "-and I woke up at the top of the cliff with Chloe-"

"I had to carry her cute ass up to the lighthouse." Chloe interrupted.

"Then we stood together and watched the storm head for the bay." Max continued, "We realised that the storm was caused by me messing with time and saving Chloe in the bathroom." Chloe's head perked up at this, like she wanted to say something, but decided to keep her mouth shut, "She gave me the picture to go back and let her die. But I couldn't. Then Alex showed up. He pushed Chloe off the cliff, the-"

"I fell and ended up landing on my bed. I was so angry at Alex I didn't realise what happened and I reached out my arm and opened a portal back to the lighthouse to get him back. Once I was back I realised that he'd unlocked my powers." Chloe interrupted to add her part of the story.

"He got us to sit with him and showed us how to give him our energy, it made him strong enough to make a shield over the bay and protect it. Before the storm was completely gone me and Alex passed out from the strain on our powers."

"And then I had to carry both of them back down." Chloe complained.

Max smiled and continued, " The next day, we met up with you and Victoria. The lighthouse collapsed and on the way over I had another storm vision." Kate's eyes widened, " It was different, the newspaper had the same date and there was Chloe and another me there. They both just looked at me and smiled. It was so weird. We also found out some stuff from Alex after you and Victoria left to go back to the Hospital. He said the lighthouse had been reinforced because of a restoration project about six-"

"seven" Chloe corrected.

"Right, seven months ago. It was organised by someone called Jane Doe. Alex said he'd look into finding out the persons real name."

"But we don't really trust Alex at the moment, since he lied to us to make us trust him. And if what Victoria said is true, then he would've had to have known about the storm before it happened, for the relief teams to be there that quickly." Chloe added.

"Then we went back to Chloe's to sleep, since we were both still really drained from the storm. But David was there with some news." Max glanced to Chloe who nodded, before continuing, "He said that the body we found in the junkyard wasn't Rachel, it was just some guy, he said the cops think he worked for Jefferson. But I don't know, it doesn't make sense to me. After that we went to sleep and I had another wierd dream. It showed me the basics of how my powers worked, basically as long as it's within a few days, I can mess with time all I want. It also showed me what happens if I mess up. And I think it might have hinted that the storm wasn't caused by me, but I'm not sure." Max explained.

"Huh. That's good to know, now we can do all kinds of time shit. Oh! And this morning we figured out the basics of my powers and I passed out. So what'd I miss?" Chloe asked.

"We met here, went to the station and visited Jefferson. It turns out Nathan is alive and Sean Prescott got him out of jail because of his mental health and is blaming it on Jefferson."

"What? But I thought Prescott and Jeffershit were working together, Sean did pay for all the shit."

"I don't know. When we saw Jefferson, Kate used her powers and made him burst into tears and collapse to his knees."

Chloe grinned at Kate, "Awesome!" Chloe put her hand up and the two high-fived, causing Kate to grin.

"Jefferson was mumbling about something. I think it was something to do with him being scared of Sean, saying that he was going to kill him."

"Why would Sean want to kill him? It seems a bit extreme for Prescott, Jefferson's already locked up." Max gave Chloe a look, reminding her of Nathan in the bathroom, "...Oh. Right. never mind. Anyway, I think it's my turn." Chloe decided to explain what she'd found out. "So, on the news scientists have explained our little light show, so we don't have to worry about that. They also said that the storm was like others that have been happening around the country, and that there's been like a 600% increase in tornadoes over the past few years." She explained. ' _So there have been more storms like the one here? So I guess it really wasn't my fault._ ' Chloe explained how she'd tried to get the truck working again, "... but I couldn't find the problem. There was this envelope, under the hood. I-I think it's from Rachel. There was a note in it that told me to get the truck fixed because we're gonna need it and the envelope is full of cash."

Max and Kate's eyes widened at that. "Are you sure?" Max asked.

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure it's her handwriting." Chloe replied.

Max nodded, "How much money was there?"

"Hmm... Probably about double the disability fund."

"Holy shit. We need to come up with a plan, see if we can find out what the fuck is going on." Max suggested.

"Umm. Victoria told me something earlier that might be useful." Kate said quietly, drawing Chloe's and Max's attention, "She mentioned that Nathan sent her a message saying that his father was taking him to one of their houses in Seattle for a while to see a therapist."

' _I didn't think Sean cared about Nathan, so why would he take him to therapy in Seattle?_ ' Max looked up to see Joyce had appeared next to the table, she put down their drinks with a smile and stepped away to see to another customer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure exactly what to do with this chapter so I decided to just go with a recap chapter. Since I may or may not have forgotten some details from earlier chapters, I thought we could all do with a recap.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been rereading what I've written and I've realised that in this story David was kicked out, then I wrote that he was at the price house watching tv and stopping the night, and now he's kicked out again.  
> I'll fix it once the story is finished and make it so that he didn't stay for the night and he was watching tv taking a break from packing some of his stuff.  
> I just thought I'd mention it in case it confused anyone. If you notice any other issues with anything in the story feel free to let me know so I can fix it later on. Thanks!

The girls sipped their drinks in silence, taking a moment to take in the information that had been shared between them. The three of them were now all caught up with everything that had occurred over the past week. Chloe eventually broke the silence with a question, "You said you were shown what would happen if you screwed up with your powers." Max nodded in response, "So what did that mean? and what happens?" Kate glanced up from her tea to look at Max, she was curious as well.

Max sighed, "Well, the best case scenario is a storm."

"Like the one on Friday?" Kate asked. Max shook her head.

"It's a storm that stretches across the horizon, it won't just destroy the bay, but the whole world. Nobody will be able to survive it. There won't be anything left, everything will be torn apart." Max explained.

"Holy shit, and that's _best_ case scenario?" Chloe asked, eyes wide.

"Worst case scenario is the whole universe collapsing in on itself." Max stated calmly.

Chloe slowly leaned back in her seat, letting out a deep breath. Kate glanced over at her before looking back to Max, "But that will only happen if you use your powers wrong, right?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, If I change things that happened more than three days ago." Max smiled, "And that's never going to happen, I promise I'll be careful and try to avoid it" She added.

The group lapsed back into silence as they finished their drinks. Kate, the first one to finish, decided to mention something, "From the way Nathan's text was worded it made it seem like Sean Prescott was going with him."

"And why is that important?" Chloe asked.

Kate grinned, "It means that the Prescott's house in Acadia bay will be empty" Max's brows furrowed in confusion, causing Kate to roll her eyes, her grin growing wider, "I'm sure there will be some information about why Sean is going against Jefferson and why Jefferson would be scared of being murdered by him hidden somewhere in the house." Kate explained.

"Hold on. Are you suggesting we break into Prescott's house?" Chloe questioned, her face lighting up with excitement.

Kate nodded, "You two apparently have experience with that kind of thing and with both of your powers, you won't get caught."

"That's a great idea! Kate, you're awesome!" Chloe exclaimed, going in for another high-five.

"I was thinking we could go back to Jefferson and see if we can get anything useful out of him." Max suggested.

"I dunno, it might look a little suspicious if you keep going in and out of there like a yo-yo" Chloe stated, "Maybe leave it a few days before going back." She suggested.

Max sighed, "Okay, fine. But when do we do it?" Chloe grinned at her, making her blush. Max knew exactly where Chloe's thoughts were going.

"The text was sent this morning, so they've probably already gone." Kate said, she either didn't see Chloe's look or chose to ignore it.

"Awesome! Let's do it tonight. Gives us an excuse to get away from step-douche." Max raised an eyebrow at Chloe, "Oh. Mom said she invited him to come over later to talk." 

Max nodded, "So it looks like we're going to be up all night again." She sighed, "My sleep schedule is already messed up as it is."

Chloe grinned and Kate giggled in response. "Well, I should probably go and make sure Alice is okay, and you two have some preparations make." Kate said, getting up from her seat and pulling her phone out of her pocket, starting to type on it. Max and Chloe smiled at each other as they stood from the table. Max reached into her pocket and left some money on the table to pay for the drinks.

The three of them made their way out of the diner, they stood outside together for a moment. "Thanks for helping me today, Max." Kate said.

"No problem, let us know if you find anything out or if you need help with anyhting else." Max replied.

Before anyone could say anything else, an expensive looking silver car pulled up next to them. The drivers door opened and Victoria stepped out, smiling at Kate. She walked over to the back of the car and opened the trunk, pulling out a few carrier bags. Victoria headed over to the group, "Hi, I have something for you." She handed the bags to Max, who struggled to hold them, not expecting them to be too heavy. Chloe took some of them off her and looked inside.

"Clothes?" Chloe asked, confused.

Victoria smiled at them, "Since you've spent the day with Kate while I was at Blackwell getting some things, I decided to grab a few of your trashy hipster clothes for you. Seeing that you're still wearing the same clothes as you were yesterday, it seems that was a good decision." She explained.

Max glanced down at herself, only now realising she'd been wearing the same clothes for 48 hours. "Thanks, Victoria" Max said, smiling at her.

"No problem." She turned to Kate, "Ready to head back? Alice is waiting for you!" Kate nodded, stepping towards the car.

"Bye Max, bye Chloe" She said as she opened the door and got in. Victoria headed back over to the drivers side, Max and Chloe waved as the car pulled away.

The girlfriends turned and started to walk back home, Chloe took Max's hand as they walked, making her smile. They walked together in silence for a while until Chloe sighed, gaining Max's attention, "What do we do about the truck? I don't think we can just walk everywhere and rely on public transport." She asked.

"I guess getting the truck fixed would be a good idea. It would make things a lot easier." Max replied, "When we get back we'll have a few hours to get ready, so maybe you could call someone to look at the truck."

"Good idea. We should probably take a look at how much cash is in the envelope, so we can see if we have enough." Chloe suggested, Max nodded in agreement.

Max's thoughts drifted back to the Prescott's, she still couldn't think of a reason for Sean to suddenly start caring about Nathan. "Chloe, why do you think Sean's going with Nathan?" She asked.

Chloe turned to look at her, taking a moment to think, "Maybe he's running away. Trying to get away from all the Jefferson shit."

"I guess, but it doesn't make sense to me." Max sighed, "I don't know."

Chloe frowned, "It doesn't matter anyway, we'll find out why later"

Max smiled, "This should be fun." Chloe grinned. The girls continued walking home holding hands, carrying the bags of Max's clothes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot of the speech in this Chapter feels a little awkward to me. The storm mentioned in this Chapter is from Max's dream showing her about her powers, when I wrote that chapter I left out a few things since I was planning to have it come up in another dream, but that changed. I'll update that chapter with more description later, just another thing on the list of changes I need to make.  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this Chapter took so long to publish. I originally wrote over half a chapter of Max and Chloe at home going through the money and stuff, but it didn't feel right and it was too awkward, so I ended up getting rid of it. Which really affected my motivation to write. I also recently had the busiest three weeks of my life, so I didn't have time to even think about this for a while. It feels like I'm just making excuses, so I'm sorry. I've lost most of the motivation I had to write this so updates may be even slower for a while.

The sun was setting, casting long shadows behind the two girls as they walked hand in hand down the dirt path. They had left the Prices home several minutes ago, and were on their way to the Prescott’s house. “I’m still tripping over the cash.” Chloe said, breaking the silence that had fallen between them, “When he said how much it was gonna cost, I was actually starting to think about how the hell I’d get the extra hundred bucks.”

“That was a pretty generous discount, he must really like you.” Max grinned. After they had got back home from the diner, Chloe had called a mechanic who had helped her with the truck multiple times before. Tom had towed the truck away and promised to have it fixed within a few days. He had given them a discounted price, which ended up being the exact amount in the envelope.

“He probably just felt bad about overcharging me the last time.” Chloe stated.

“There is definitely something weird about the money though-" Max started, Chloe turned to her to give her a look, “I know it was weird to begin with, but Rachel, or whoever it was that left it for us, would never have known what number Tom would come up with, or that he’d give you a discount. But yet they still got exactly the right amount of money. Something about it just.... it gives me a weird feeling.”

Chloe hummed, “Who knows? Maybe whoever it was, told Tom how much to charge us. Ooh! Or maybe, they caused the problem in the first place!” Chloe suggested, her eyes widening as she voiced her ideas.

“No, that doesn’t make sense. Why would they have caused the problem and then give us the money to fix it? It doesn’t make any sense” Max argued.

Chloe opened her mouth to respond, but her eyes shifted to something behind Max. “We’re here.” Chloe stated.

Max turned around to see the Prescott’s house, it was big, not quite big enough to call it a mansion but still pretty big. The building was three stories high, and from the windows in the roof, it seemed the large attic was used as an additional floor. Although there was no evidence of it, the house more than likely had a large basement as well.

The girls had taken a dirt path that lead to a small gate at the side of the house to try and avoid being detected. The two approached the gate to find it left ajar. They shared a look before Max pushed the gate fully open, its hinges squeaking slightly, the pair stepped across the border onto Prescott property. They both took a deep breath as a wave of nerves hit them the moment they crossed the boundary. Chloe pointed at a narrow path that went around the outside of the building, Max nodded and followed her girlfriend around to the front of the house. Once they reached the front door, Chloe turned to face Max with a grin and asked her, “So, how are we gonna blow up this door?”

Max smiled and rolled her eyes. She glanced around the front of the house, looking for a way in. She noticed that around the exterior of the house were lots of various plants, all of which looked well maintained. ‘ _They definitely have a gardener. There’s no way any of the Prescott’s would be even slightly interested in gardening._ ’ Glancing at the door to the house, Max saw that there was a large window next to it. That window would be the perfect way in to open the door, she just needed something to break it with. She glanced around again. She spotted a small flowerpot with some small blue flowers in. Max stepped over to it and lifted it up, it was heavier than she expected, but she still managed to lift it. Chloe watched, still grinning, as Max stepped back to the window and began to swing the pot back and forth a few times. Once she felt she’d built up enough momentum, she released the pot from her grasp. Max and Chloe watched as it flew straight through the window, causing a loud smash as the window disintegrated and the pot shattered on the oak flooring inside the hallway.

The two girls waited for a few moments for the inevitable burglar alarm to start going off. But it didn’t. Max frowned as she carefully stepped forward and through the gap in the wall that used to be a pane of glass. Once she stepped into the house, Max turned around to look at Chloe. She reached out her right hand and began to tap into her powers. The world around her tinted red as she began to feel the flow of time through her fingers. She tensed and began to pull on the timeline, forcing it backwards. Max stood and watched her ghost self step back outside, the flowerpot reformed and flew back out the window, which also repaired itself. She saw her ghost self disappear from sight with the pot in its hands, on the other side of the window, only to return a few moments later empty handed. That’s when Max decided to release her hold on time and she lowered her arm. “Shit!” She heard Chloe exclaim from outside. Probably after turning around to see her gone.

There was a light tapping at the door as Max approached it, “Open up, its the fucking mailman.” Chloe said quietly, but loud enough for Max to hear it. She chuckled as she reached for the door handle and turned it to open the door. Chloe stood on the other side grinning. “So, did I break the door down with my badass skills?” Chloe asked as she stepped in.

“Actually, you just stood and watched as I threw a flowerpot through the window.” Max explained smiling at Chloe.

Chloe laughed, “Yeah, yeah. I bet you just didn’t want to admit that I did something hella badass.”

Chloe turned around to see Max still standing at the door with a frown on her face. She’d just realised something, “Chloe?” Max looked up at her, “The door wasn’t locked.”

Chloe’s eyes widened, “They probably forgot to lock it.” She replied, obviously trying not to panic.

“There was no alarm.” Max stated.

“Prescott’s rich, he probably doesn’t have an alarm, probably just thinks he’s too powerful and scary for people to even think about robbing him.” Chloe explained.

“Exactly, he’s rich. He can afford to get the best security systems in the world and not even make a dent in his bank account.” Max countered.

“But why leave it all off and the door unlocked?” Chloe asked.

“I don’t know.” Max stated.

“Maybe there’s an answer to the question somewhere in this house.” Chloe suggested.

Max nodded, unsure if they should continue or just leave. Chloe started to walk down the long hallway, so Max closed the front door and followed after her. Chloe stopped walking, next to a random door on the left of the hall. She glanced at Max standing behind her before she turned the handle and pushed open the oak door.

The girls entered the dark room, Chloe reached for the light switch, flicking it on. Max glanced around the room, ‘ _wowser, I’ve never seen a kitchen this high tech before_ ’. The walls of the room had been painted a plain white, the floor covered in expensive looking shiny, black tiles. The cupboards that went around the walls and the large island in the centre of the large room, all had a black marble countertop covering them. Almost every surface was covered in high-tech cooking equipment that had obviously never been used. Chloe shuddered, “This room is too clean.”

Max chuckled, “With the state your bedroom is in, I didn’t think you even knew what the word ‘clean’ even meant. But, yeah. I get what you mean, it almost smells like a hospital in here.” She replied.

“Hey, look at this!” Chloe said as she rushed over to the island. Next to the sink was what looked like a letter, Chloe picked it up and her eyes scanned over it. Her lips moving slightly as she read through it. “I don’t really know what some of these words mean, but it basically says that Nathan is really messed up and needs help.” Chloe paused as she continued to read, “He also apparently hears voices.”

“He really does need help. I hope he’s getting it in Seattle.” Max stated. Chloe looked up at Max, giving her a look as if she’d just said the Earth was flat. Max sighed, “Nathan was manipulated by Jefferson, it wasn’t his fault.”

Chloe glanced down at her feet, “I know, I just... Let’s just keep exploring.” She rushed to a door on the other side of the kitchen and barged through it. Max jogged over to catch up with her.

They ended up in what looked like a living room, but it could also have been a cinema since mounted on one of the walls, there was a huge TV. The room was filled with very big and very comfortable looking sofas. On the opposite side of the room were a few display cabinets filled with what looked like awards and trophies for various different things. There was nothing of interest in this room. At least that’s what Chloe seemed to think as she took one quick glance around the room before moving towards a set of double doors on the other side of the room.

“Bingo! That is obviously going to be some kind of office.” Chloe stated. Max followed her girlfriend, struggling to keep up with her increased pace.

They reached the door and Chloe quickly reached for the handles of both doors, simultaneously pushing both sides wide open.

Both girls froze.

“Ah! Welcome!”

 

‘ _Fuck!_ ’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't take as long to write as I thought it would, so I've already started on the next one. Hopefully that means I'll finish it in time to publish it in two weeks. I also hope I can can keep up with writing and actually keep to the schedule.

“Ah! Welcome!”

‘ _Fuck!_ ’

Both girls stood frozen in place. In front of them, sat at an expensive looking desk, was a middle aged man. He had blonde hair in a plain style and stubble covered his face, he was wearing a suit from what Max could see. The man smiled at them. “Why don’t you come in and take a seat?” He offered, using a tone that suggested it would be a bad idea to refuse.

They stepped into the office. At the back of the room, behind the man there was a large window with a view of the huge well kept garden. The other sides of the room were lined with bookcases and cupboards, filled with books and files. In front of the desk sat three chairs in a row, facing the man. Max stepped towards them, her heart racing, she took the seat in the middle. Chloe sat to her left. They glanced around nervously, waiting for him to say something.

After a few moments of silence, Max felt movement behind her. She turned in her seat to see three men standing in the doorway. Her eyes widened when she realised Alex was standing in the middle, he was wearing suspiciously dark clothes. The other two she didn't recognise. They wore some sort of uniform, something she’d never seen before. They both had guns in holsters strapped to their belts. “Why don’t you join us?” The man at the desk asked. After he spoke one of the uniformed men reached out and shoved Alex’s shoulder, pushing him forward. He stumbled slightly, then stepped over to the seat, hesitantly sitting down to the right of Max with a nervous look on his face. The man at the desk nodded at the other two causing them to turn and leave the room, closing the doors behind them.

“Welcome to my home, my name is Sean Prescott, but I’m sure you already knew that.” He said. Max swallowed the lump forming in the back of her throat, only making it worse. “I see Chloe and Maxine let themselves in.” Sean stated, he opened his mouth to continue but was interrupted.

“Max, never Maxine” Max instinctively blurted out, she felt her face immediately heat up from the embarrassment. It was her natural response to hearing her full name from anyone other than her parents.

Sean smiled, “Of course, Max,” he turned to Alex, “but unfortunately I had to send my friends to bring you here. You’re new here, so I don't know your name.”

There was an awkward silence as Sean stared into Alex’s eyes, making him progressively more uncomfortable until he spoke, “Its Alex.” He stated. Prescott continued to stare, “Ch-Chase”

Sean finally looked away from Alex, Max heard him sigh and saw the tension leave him from the corner of her eye. “What do you want?” Chloe asked, after a brief silence.

“What do I want? I should be asking you what ‘you' want, since you two decided to enter my property without permission. Had I not wanted to talk to you, I would’ve had you shot for trespassing.” Sean explained calmly. He stood from the desk, he stepped towards the side of the room. The three of them shared a concerned look. Max knew that each of them individually had the ability to easily escape the situation, but they were all too curious to leave immediately. They wanted to see what Sean was talking about. ‘ _He might give us some answers._ ’

Sean had opened a cupboard at head height and started to search through it, “Thanks to Nathan, we were able to intercept some files.” He pulled two small folders from the cupboard before closing the door. “It appears Chloe tested positive.” Prescott walked back to the desk and sat down. ‘ _What is he talking about? Positive for what?_ ’

“What The fuck are you talking about? I don’t have HIV if that’s what you mean.” Chloe exclaimed, getting annoyed.

Sean chuckled. “You tested positive for abilities.”

Max and Chloe’s eyes widened, “W-what do you mean?” Chloe said, trying and failing to sound confused.

“Well, from what I saw Friday night, I have a feeling all three of you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Sean explained calmly. Max’s heart felt like it was going to pound out of her chest. ‘ _He knows about our powers? He knows what we did to stop the storm? But how?_ ’

“How do you-?” Chloe tried to ask, but was cut off by Prescott.

“Since Nathan was able to get close to Mark we were able to intercept the last files he sent off. It includes Chloe’s test results and his suspicions of Max having abilities, after her recent change in behaviour.” Prescott said.

Max noticed Chloe tense up, so she reached to her left and took one of Chloe’s hands in hers. “I don’t remember taking any fucking tests, so how-?” Chloe shouted, again being cut off by Sean Prescott.

“In order to gain access to more information from Mark, Nathan had to perform one of the tests himself. Which included collecting the blood sample on his own, along with Mark’s weird tradition of using the subjects for his messed up photography” Sean explained, “Unfortunately Chloe ended up being the target.”

Chloe now held Max’s hand in a death grip, she was glaring at the Prescott, “So that’s what happened when he drugged me?” She yelled.

“I apologise but it was necessary to gain Marks trust in order to gain a better understanding of what exactly is going on.” Sean responded to Chloe, sounding somewhat sincere.

“So what is exactly going on then?” Chloe shouted, leaning towards the man, almost jumping out of her seat.

“Chloe!” Max whispered, tugging on Chloe’s hand to try and get her to sit back and get out of Prescott's face.

Sean chuckled, “It’s okay. The whole reason I invited you here was to talk to you three about this.” He sighed, leaning back into a less formal position on his chair, “So, over the past year Prescott property and developments across the country have been completely levelled by tornadoes. After apprehending people at the sites and extensive research, I have managed to piece together what is happening. Someone who apparently goes by the name of ‘Chaos’ doesn’t like the fact that we are procuring more land in Arcadia Bay. In protest they have been using their abilities to create storms to slowly destroy our business.”

Max’s eyes widened, ‘ _I have a feeling this is a lot bigger than we first thought_ ’. They sat in silence for a moment taking in the new information, until Chloe decided to say something. “But what does that have to do with Jeffershit?” She asked.

“I believe he has been employed by Chaos to test students for powers, probably to recruit them to join him.” Sean explained.

Chloe tensed up, “S-so does that mean Rachel-?” She cut herself off, unable to finish the question.

Sean smiled, “Thanks to Nathan, we were able to intercept the transport and free her.” Chloe immediately relaxed and sighed, "The man transporting her was buried in a junkyard."

“So where is she? Can I talk to her?” Chloe asked, getting excited.

Prescott sighed, “Unfortunately, for her safety, we sent her on a tour of rural countries around the world. She’s researching the origin of these abilities and why they exist.”

“Oh, okay" Chloe replied, sounding disappointed.

“Why?” Alex asked, drawing everyone’s attention, “Why are you telling us this? What do you want from us?”

Max and Chloe turned from looking at Alex, back to Sean Prescott. “Very well.” He began to explain, “Due to the storm failing to destroy the bay, Chaos is likely still in the area. He may try to recruit you or kill you to make sure his next storm is successful. We may need your help to take him down, in order to prevent him from killing any more innocent people.” Sean opened a drawer on his desk and pulled out some business cards. He handed one to each of them, “If you do come across Chaos contact me immediately so I can send help.”

Max nodded as she looked over the card in her hand. It was a plain white card with ‘Prescott’ written on it in black, she flipped it over to see a phone number written on the back of it. “It would be best if we knew what your abilities are. Should Chaos start a fight it would help us fight him more effectively.” Sean stated, after a moment of silence.

“Why don’t you check your test?” Chloe replied, looking up from the card in her hand.

“The test only determines the presence of abilities, not what they are. I’m assuming Alex is the one with the force fields.” Sean responded glancing at Alex, who nodded. He then turned to look at Chloe with a curious expression.

“I can make portals.” Chloe said bluntly. Sean smiled as he turned to Max.

Max opened her mouth to respond, but she saw something in the corner of her eye. Alex was subtly shaking his head with a worried look, as if he was warning her not to tell Prescott. ‘ _It might be a good idea to not tell the truth. But what I do say should be something that wouldn’t raise too much suspicion if he saw or noticed something that was a product of my powers._ ’

“I can see a few seconds into the future.” Max stated. ‘ _Hopefully this will work. If I let something slip or mention something I shouldn’t know around him I’ll just say I heard him say it in the future._ ’

“Hmmm. Interesting.” Sean muttered, “Well, I think that’s everything. Why don’t you two head out? I’m sure you know the way. I want to talk to Alex for a few moments, about how he managed to save the town from being obliterated by that storm.” He explained.

Max and Chloe stood and pocketed the business cards. They quickly made their way out of the room, heading straight back through the way they came and out the still unlocked front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to add a little bit of colour to this chapter, ~~for fun~~ since I thought it would help improve the look of the chapter. This chapter is also a little shorter since I wanted to start the next morning in the next chapter.

Max opened her eyes, she was looking down at a desk. It was mostly empty, but her eyes were drawn to the left where she could see a large pile of files. Max tried to look up to see where she was, but found herself unable to do so. Her hands reached out to the files, without her commanding them to. She saw familiar wrinkled hands take a file from the top of the pile. ‘ _These aren’t my hands. So, that means I'm in some kind of vision or dream._ ’ She took in as much of what she could see around her peripheral vision as possible, trying to piece together where she was in this dream. To the right there was a computer on the desk. To the left of it, behind where she had now placed the file, sat a familiar looking brass eagle. ‘ _Of course. This is Principle Wells' office. But what am I doing here?_ ’ Max’s hands had now opened the file, She began to read from the top of the front page.

Mark Jefferson’s Photography Course Application  
Victoria Maribeth Chase  
Status:     ACCEPTED

The ‘Accepted’ text had clearly been stamped on using green ink. Max was unable to read any further as the file had been slammed shut. She slid the file to her right and reached over to take the next file off of the pile. She placed the file in front of her and opened it.

Jessica Rose Floyd  
Status:     REJECTED

This time the status of the application had been stamped with red ink. Again, the file was quickly shut and moved to join the other file to her right. She took the next file, placed it in front of her and opened it.

Kate Beverley Marsh  
Status:     ACCEPTED

Yet again the file was quickly added to the pile to her right and she took the next one.

Taylor Christensen  
Status:     ACCEPTED

Nadine Bassaneli  
Status:     REJECTED

Sofia Cecilia Harman  
Status:     ACCEPTED

Max went to add this file to the pile on her right, but froze, instead placing it back down in front of her. ‘ _Something doesn’t seem right about that, it says that this Sofia was accepted into Jefferson's Photography course, but I never knew anyone called Sofia in the class._ ’ She took the next file, placing it on top of Sofia’s as she opened it.

Daniel DaCosta  
Status:     ACCEPTED

This file was quickly moved to the side.

Evan Harris  
Status:     ACCEPTED

Another file discarded.

Maxine Caulfield  
Status:     REJECTED

Seeing this, her heart sank. ‘ _My application was rejected? But that's not right. What’s going on here?_ ’ She lifted her file to reach Sofia’s file beneath and opened it. She arranged her file above the other so that the status of Sofia’s application was clearly visible. Max the placed her weathered hand over the two files, red wisps of energy began to flow from her fingertips. Max watched on as her powers engaged involuntarily. She saw some of the papers in the files shift slightly, then something different happened. Instead of the world around her reversing with all the files returning to the pile, her powers seemed to focus on only the files in front of her. The red wisps of energy steadily flowed into the papers, after a few moments the stamps disappeared. The status of both of the applications was now nothing, blank, undecided. ‘ _Holy shit! Is that something I can do? I need to try it when I wake up._ ’

Max’s head lifted up from the desk, next to the bronze bird she noticed two stamps resting on the desk. One sat in green ink, the other in red ink. She took the one in green ink and stamped it on her file, she replaced it and took the one in red ink, stamping it down on Sofia’s file.

Maxine Caulfield  
Status:     ACCEPTED

Sofia Cecilia Harman  
Status:     REJECTED

‘ _Wait. What about that girl? I just rejected her application. She would've got into Jefferson’s class instead of me._ ’ The door to the Principals office burst open. Max jumped as she looked up. A girl had just walked in, she looked familiar. The girl had long blonde hair and hazel eyes, which were staring straight at her. “Hurry up! David’s coming!” She whisper shouted.

The girl turned and left the room, leaving the door open. As her head turned as she left, Max caught a glimpse of something blue hidden in her hair, it almost looked like some kind of feather. If Max had any control over body at that moment, her eyes would have popped out of her head as it dawned on her. ‘ _That was Rachel Amber! What’s going on here?_ ’

Max stood up from her seat as her hands rushed to put all the files back together in the pile. Once she finished, Max turned around, glancing out the window behind her. She managed to take a step before she froze, staring out the window. It was dark outside, so she couldn’t see anything other than her reflection. A familiar face was staring back at her, but it wasn’t Max. She had already come to the conclusion it wasn’t herself, as the hands she’d seen definitely weren’t hers. However, Max wasn’t expecting to see the homeless woman from outside the diner in the reflection. ‘ _Does this mean she has the same time powers as me?_ ’

Max suddenly started moving again, heading to the door. Rachel was waiting on the other side, when she saw Max approaching, she smiled and began to head towards the entrance to the school. Max followed close behind.

* * *

Max’s eyes slowly opened, as her eyes focused, a familiar ceiling came into view. She sighed as her head sank further down into the pillow it was resting on. It looked like it was still dark outside so she hadn’t been asleep for long. She turned her head to see Chloe asleep next to her. After leaving the Prescott’s house, the two had walked straight back home. They managed to sneak in without waking Joyce and headed straight to bed.

‘ _What was my dream about?_ ’ Max turned around to lie on her back, starting to think about her dream. ‘ _Rachel and the homeless woman broke into Blackwell Academy. The homeless woman went through the applications for the photography class to change them so that some girl was rejected and I was accepted. They did that by using the time powers the homeless woman apparently has. I think that’s basically it. But I just don’t know why they did it. Did they think they had to do it so I’d go back to Arcadia Bay? Maybe it was so Chloe would be saved._ ’ Max continued to think about the possible reasons as she slowly drifted back to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	28. Chapter 28

Sunlight leaking through Max’s closed eyelids pulled her back into reality. She sighed as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a pair of blue eyes staring back at her. She jumped from the surprise and looked back at Chloe’s face, coming to the conclusion that Chloe had been watching her as she slept. “Morning" Chloe greeted, still smirking at how she’d scared Max.

“Were you watching me sleep?” Max asked, sitting up on the bed.

“What can I say? Its a nice view,” Chloe replied, causing Max to blush slightly at the compliment. Chloe chuckled, when she noticed Max’s cheeks were now a light shade of pink, “And anyway, I thought I’d get you back from when you obviously watched me sleep while I was zonked out the other day.” She winked.

Max’s eyes widened as she realised what Chloe might have meant by the statement. She raised her hands and immediately began patting and stroking at her face, as if it would tell her whether or not her skin had been marked. Sitting next to her on the bed, Chloe was now laughing hysterically at Max’s reaction. Max sighed, she reached over and shoved Chloe, which caused her to slip off the side of the bed.

“Ow!” Chloe exclaimed as she hit the floor.

Max leaned over and chuckled when she saw Chloe lying in an uncomfortable heap amongst the mess that was Chloe’s bedroom floor. Both phones sitting on Chloe's desk vibrated, Chloe jumped up from the floor to grab them and hand Max’s to her. Chloe jumped back onto the bed as Max checked the message.

 **Unknown:** Don’t even think about stopping my storms again. The Prescott's are evil, they deserve to be destroyed.

‘ _Great, even more text threats._ ’ “What the fuck?” Chloe muttered, Max glanced over Chloe’s shoulder to see that her girlfriend had received the same message.

“Do you think it’s from Chaos?” Max asked, resting her chin on Chloe’s shoulder.

“Probably. Do you think we should call Prescott about this?” Chloe asked.

“No. Even if we come face to face with Chaos, we don’t call Sean. The way Alex looked at me last night, it was like he was warning me about something. We might not trust Alex at the moment, but I trust him more than I’d trust any Prescott.” Max explained.

Chloe nodded, “okay, got it. Speaking of Alex, should we check in and see what Prescott wanted with him last night?” She suggested.

Max nodded, so Chloe opened his contact on her phone and typed out a message.

 **Chloe:** What did Sean want last night?

 **Chloe:** Why didn’t you trust him?

 **Chloe:** Care to share any info you might have that we don’t?

 **Chloe:** Care to share anything with us?

As always with Chloe, one message turned into borderline spam. The two waited a few moments for a reply, when they didn’t get one, Max spoke, “Maybe he’s still asleep after last night. Who knows how long Prescott talked to him for.”

“Yeah. I’m still hella tired.” Chloe added, “So what do we do?” She asked.

“We need to talk to that homeless woman outside the two whales.”

Chloe’s stomach rumbled at the mention of the Two Whales, She chuckled as she said, “How about breakfast first? On me.” Max raised her eyebrow at the last part, causing Chloe to roll her eyes, “By me, I mean mom.” She corrected.

Both girls chuckled as they stood up from the bed, Chloe headed to her wardrobe, Max headed over towards the desk. It was where she’d left the bags of clothes Victoria had given her.

Both girls got changed into clean clothes, put on their shoes and went downstairs. Max approached the front door and reached out her hand to unlock it, but Chloe came up behind her and grabbed it, she pulled her down the hall by her left hand. Chloe stopped pulling when they reached the back of the house. “Chloe, what are you...?” Max began to ask, she cut herself off when she saw Chloe raise her left hand and her blue energy began to flow out in front of them.

The energy gathered in a slowly expanding ball, before it burst outwards, leaving behind a hole in space. A hole that appeared to lead to behind the diner. The space between the living area and the dining table left just enough room for the portal to form.

Chloe squeezed Max’s hand and gave her a smile before stepping forward. Max stepped with her and the two walked through. After arriving at the other side, Max stood still for a moment. She felt a little dizzy, traveling through portals still disorientated her.  
They were standing behind the diner, Max glanced to her right to see the fence separating them from where the homeless woman usually sat. She couldn’t see her from where she stood, so it was unlikely the woman saw them arriving.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!” The sound came from behind them.

Max and Chloe both turned to the source of the exclamation. A familiar looking woman was standing behind them, she was wearing an apron and there was a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at the two girls. ‘ _She must be one of the waitresses at the Two Whales. She was probably out here on her break and she saw us arrive. Shit._ ’ Still holding Chloe’s right hand, Max reached out her own right hand and began to tap into her powers. The world around her tinted red as she felt time begin to flow backwards.

The woman began to move in reverse, her hand came up to her mouth holding a lighter, she flicked it open and it sucked the flame from the end of the cigarette. The woman then pocketed the lighter and pulled out the pack. She took the cigarette from her mouth replacing it inside the packaging. The door behind her burst open and she stepped backwards, back into the building, pulling the door shut in front of her.

Max began to feel the pain building in the back of her head as it grew, faster and stronger than it normally would. ‘ _I just need to keep rewinding a little bit longer, to make sure I have enough time to text Chloe to get here quickly, before that waitress comes back out._ ’ She winced as her head throbbed, finally lowering her hand and allowing time to continue to flow. She took a deep breath as the pain died down slightly. Max felt a strong, uncomfortable pressure on her left hand, she glanced down to look at it, only to find that there was someone else’s hand holding it in a death grip. She looked up to see Chloe, eyes wide, jaw dropped, staring at where the waitress had just been standing, frozen in place. ‘ _Shit! Did I break time?_ ’

* * *

 

Chloe took Max’s hand and led her to the back of the house, ‘ _I can’t be bothered to walk all the way to the diner, I’m too hungry to wait that long_ ’, the thought made her grin.

“Chloe, what are you...?” Max protested, but Chloe ignored it, letting her stomach lead her.

She reached out her left hand and thought about somewhere discrete near the diner. The first thing that came to mind was the small area behind the building, next to the parking lot. She directed the energy in front of her, making sure to put enough energy in so there would be room for both of them to step through. She could feel the direction and distance they were going to travel in her mind. Picturing the location in her head, she pulled open the hole in reality. Once it had fully expanded, she gave Max's hand a squeeze and smiled at her before she stepped through it, Max stepping with her.

Once on the other side, Chloe felt Max’s grip on her right hand tighten. She glanced down to see her girlfriend swaying slightly. Chloe tensed up, preparing herself to catch Max if she lost her balance.

“WHAT THE FUCK?!”

Chloe jumped at the sound, she and Max turned to see Jennifer standing there, she was one of the waitresses at the Two Whales. Chloe had talked to her a few times, when her mother wasn’t available. ‘ _She was probably on her break. Shit. Of course she just happens to be there when we show up. Rewind Max, rewind._ ’

Suddenly, the world around her tinted red. Her right hand felt strange, similar to when she let energy flow through it, but it felt as if it was travelling in the opposite direction, into her. Chloe’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she watched Jennifer move in reverse, eventually stepping back into the diner. Reality then faded back into normal colours.

Chloe stood frozen in place, her mind struggling to catch up with what had happened. She didn’t notice the pressure on her hand disappear until Max’s concerned face filled her view. Chloe blinked, refocusing her eyes on Max’s face. When she began to move, Max relaxed a little, letting out a breath she’d been holding. ‘ _Holy shit! Did what I think just happened, just happen?_ ’

Chloe grinned, her entire being filling up with excited energy. She pulled Max into a tight hug and began jumping up and down. “Chloe?” Max asked, confused, trying to pull out of her girlfriends death grip.

“Do you know what this means?” Chloe asked, as she let Max out of the embrace, deciding to hold her by the shoulders and shake her instead.

“What?” Max was still confused. ‘ _She’s so cute when_ _she has no idea what’s going on._ ’

“You can rewind with me!!” Chloe exclaimed.

Max’s eyes widened, “Holy shit! We can rewind together!” She repeated Chloe’s statement, the reality of it sinking in.

* * *

 

Jennifer sighed, she was finally on her break. She’d spent the past few hours dealing with grumpy trucker assholes. She reached out to open the door in the back of the kitchen that lead to a small area outside the diner. With her other hand she pulled out the pack of cigarettes she had in her back pocket. She stepped outside and froze, her hand still holding the door open. She was faced with none other than Chloe Price and some small hipster chick. They were facing each other grinning crazily and laughing at each other. ‘ _I knew Joyce’s girl had some problems but I didn’t think they were this fucking bad. Fuck this._ ’ Before either of the crazy girls spotted her, she stepped back inside the diner and pushed the door closed quietly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unfortunately I have even less time to write than before so the idea of any kind of update schedule is gone. I'll write and update when I can but it might be a little while between updates.  
> Thanks for reading and feel free to leave kudos and comments!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cant believe it's already been over a year since I wrote the first chapter of this fic! Thanks to everyone who managed to read this far and thanks for all the comments and kudos, they really help motivate me to keep writing.  
> What I've managed to write this year has put some perspective on what I have planned for the full series. I can say with absolute certainty that it will take multiple years to finish the complete story (if I don't give up before then). So I hope you'll be patient with me, since updates will definitely be slow over the next few years and hopefully the long wait for the completed story will be worth it.  
> I estimate that this part of the series will finish at around 36 chapters, but that will probably change.

“So why do we need to talk to the homeless woman?” Chloe asked through a mouthful of her breakfast.

Max leaned back in her seat and swallowed the food in her mouth before she responded, “I had a weird vision dream from her perspective.” The two leaned forward in their seats, to reduce the chance of being overhead, “It was in Wells’ office, she was going through the applications for the photography course. She rejected someone else’s and accepted mine. She was with Rachel.”

Chloe’s eyes widened, “So you think she knows something about what’s going on?”

“When I passed out from helping to stop the storm, I had a series of weird visions. One of them was watching the storm go over the shield from her perspective.” Chloe nodded, listening intently to Max’s explanation, “I spoke to her last week and it seemed like she wasn’t exactly fond of the Prescotts.”

“I don’t think anyone is.” Chloe interrupted.

Max rolled her eyes and continued, “She also seemed to know that something was coming. She said there was a storm brewing when we talked about the Prescotts.” Chloe raised an eyebrow at that, “I think that there might be a small chance that this woman could be Chaos.”

Chloe’s eyes widened, “Shit. Really?”

“It's not very likely, but from what little I know about her, it is possible" Max said.

Chloe leaned back in her seat, grinning, “Well, now we can rewind together, we can work together to get as much out of her as possible. We can interrogate her, rewind and do it again, each time we can try a different approach.” She suggested, clearly proud of the strategy she'd come up with.

‘ _That’s not a bad idea, it would mean I wouldn’t have to explain what happens each time we tried, since she’ll remember it too. But when we rewound together outside the diner, it did use more energy than normal, so we might not be able to go back too many times._ ’ Max decided to voice her concern, “Good idea Chloe, but I don’t know how many times I’ll be able to do it. It did put a lot more of a strain on me than a normal rewind.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t need a million rewinds, only a few. Let’s start with good cop bad cop.” Chloe said confidently. “You be bad cop and I’ll be good cop” She added, with an evil grin.

“But I was nice to her when I spoke to her before, so it would look a bit suspicious if I was suddenly threatening her.” Max said, raising an eyebrow at Chloe.

“Fine, you be good cop and I’ll be bad cop. I'll be more intimidating than you anyway, since I’m such a badass. Your hipster ass couldn’t be intimidating even if you wanted to be.” Chloe grinned.

“Hey!” Max said, trying to sound offended.

“Sorry but the truth hurts.” Chloe stated, her grin widening.

"You said that on purpose didn't you? just so you  could call yourself a badass." Max said, smiling.

Chloe shrugged, the two girls fell into a comfortable silence, finishing off their food. As Max ate, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket and opened the conversation with Kate, she typed out a message and sent it.

 **Max** : Do you want to meet up again so we can talk about what happened last night?

Max put the phone down on the table next to her plate, she decided to ask Chloe about something she’d been thinking about, “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if she is chaos and we make her angry? If she attacks us, I might not be able to rewind before she does something.”

“I thought you said it might not be her.” Chloe replied.

“It is just a small chance, but it’s still possible.” Max stated.

Chloe sighed, “Fine, no aggression the first time round.” She jokingly rolled her eyes.

Max chuckled, but before she could respond, her phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up and checked the message.

 **Kate** : Sorry, I can’t today, I’m helping Vic catch up on some work.

Chloe raised her eyebrow at Max, curious about what she was doing, so Max read out the message she sent to Kate and the reply.

“Vic?” Chloe asked as Max put her phone away.

“What?” Max asked, confused.

Chloe rolled her eyes, “I’ll explain when you’re older.” She stated.

‘ _Is she implying that there’s something going on between Kate and Victoria? All she did was abbreviate her name._ ’ “Seriously? It was just an abbreviation, there’s nothing more to it.” Max explained.

“Sure, 'cause homework is an all day thing.” Chloe stated sarcastically, with a grin on her face.

Max rolled her eyes as she stood up, she pulled some money out of her pocket and left it on the table. “Let’s see if we can find out anything useful.” She said, taking Chloe’s hand and pulling her out of her seat.

The two girls left the diner and headed around the side of the building. They spotted the woman sitting at the back of the area, the moment they turned the corner, she looked up at them and smiled.

“Tell us everything you know.” Chloe ordered when they’d got close enough to talk. Max elbowed her side and the woman chuckled. Max noticed the woman looking at Chloe, there was a hint of both happiness and sadness in her eyes. Max tensed, ‘ _There’s definitely something weird about her_ ’.

The homeless woman leaned back to properly look up at the girls, her hand slowly reaching behind her, heading towards a small pile of her belongings. The pile appeared to consist of a pair of worn shoes, a torn shirt and a few old newspapers and flattened cardboard boxes. The happiness in her eyes, from when she’d looked at Chloe, began to fade, leaving only sadness behind. Max also noticed a hint of something else. Regret. Something she knew too well.

The pained smile disappeared from the woman's face as she began to speak, "I've already failed, I'm sorry. Try not to make the same mistakes I did and maybe you’ll be the one to stop this. Good luck, here.” The woman pulled out an envelope from somewhere behind her, she handed it to a confused Max. “This is for when you need a place to stay." She explained, getting up from the ground. She began to walk past them, heading towards the road.

"Wait, what's going on? Can you at least explain?" Max asked as she passed her.

The Woman stopped and turned to face them, she thought for a moment before she sighed, "I’m sorry, I cant tell you anything.” She smiled as she continued, “However, I can tell you that I am not in fact Chaos.”

“W-wait, How..?” Chloe stuttered, but the woman had already walked away and turned the corner. She turned to look at Max, “Max, rewind. Let’s do good cop bad cop.”

‘ _How did she know what I was thinking? What was she talking about? She definitely knows more about what’s going on than we do._ ’ Max glanced down at the envelope in her hand. It looked the same as the envelope Chloe had found in her truck. Taking a closer look, there was no doubt in her mind that it contained a lot of cash. Max tucked the envelope into one of her back pockets before taking Chloe's right hand. She raised her own right hand and focused on sensing the flow of time, she used her energy to pull on it, slowing time to a stop. The pain in her head came back the moment time began to flow backwards, quickly building until Max had no choice but to stop. She leaned forward, her hand falling to her knee to help support herself as she gasped for air.

“Max!” Chloe exclaimed, releasing Max’s other hand to move her own around her girlfriends waist.

Something warm and wet began to flow down over Max’s lips, she moved her now free hand to wipe at it. She moved her hand back to see a streak of blood across her fingers.

Chloe quickly checked their surroundings, before raising her left hand. She managed to quickly open a portal, holding it open as she helped Max through it. Once the blue light faded, Max glanced around and headed straight for the bed, kicking off her shoes before diving onto it and planting her face in a pillow.

Chloe walked over to the other side of her bed, pulling off her boots as she sat down. “You’d better not get your blood all over my bed.” She said, jokingly. Max sighed and rolled over to lie on her back. She wiped under her nose to remove the small amount blood left on her face. ‘ _At least it was only a little drop, instead of the river of blood when I helped with the shield._ ‘

“You know, I think I’ve slept more in the past few days than I have in the past five years.” Chloe stated, getting comfortable on the bed next to Max.

Max chuckled, “I guess using our powers and trying to find out what's going on is draining our energy faster. Especially since you probably haven’t really used your brain or done much physical activity in the past few years, Ow!” Chloe kicked her from the other side of the bed. Both girls laughed for a moment as they relaxed, falling into a comfortable silence. Eventually they both slowly drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter done, I didn't get as much time to write as I thought I would, but at least I finished it before the new year.  
> Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter done faster than this one.

Max made sure the door closed quietly behind her. She’d just walked into a large office, several desks and computers were arranged in groups around the room. She walked down a carpeted pathway that ran through the spaces between the desks, straight through the middle of the room, instinctively knowing where she was going. On the far wall of the room, between two large floor to ceiling windows, a logo was painted on the wall, no matter how hard she tried to focus on it, the logo stayed blurry. Max knew she'd seen it somewhere before, but she couldn’t remember where.

She stopped almost halfway to the wall and turned, walking past an empty desk, she stopped in front of another. On the desk there were various items; pens, pencils, paper, a mouse and keyboard and two family pictures. The people in the pictures looked happy but they weren't anyone she recognised, she took a moment to judge the bad lighting before continuing with the task at hand. The computer screen sitting on the desk was still on, Max took the mouse and began to search through the files of the computer, everything she found looked completely boring, but she continued searching.

Eventually she found what she had apparently been looking for, a folder titled ‘Urgent’ and another called ‘important’. She highlighted both of them and pressed the delete key on the keyboard, both folders disappearing from view. Max reached out and pushed a button on the side of the screen, turning it off. She froze. Staring at her reflection in the black surface. The homeless woman’s face staring back. After a moment, she smiled. Then she moved away from the desk and headed back to the door. She opened it to see nothing but a black void, without hesitating she stepped through, into the darkness.

* * *

 

Max slowly awoke to an annoying tapping sound. Without opening her eyes, she reached out an arm to try and pull Chloe closer to her, but she found nothing but air. She sighed, realising she’d have to open her eyes.

The moment she did, she regretted it, slamming her eyes shut as the morning sunlight coming through the windows burned her eyes. The tapping sound stopped and Max heard chuckling from somewhere in front of her, “You okay there?” Chloe’s voice asked.

“I’m fine.” Max replied. She tried opening her eyes, slowly this time, giving them enough time to adjust to the light. She could see Chloe sitting at her desk, smiling back at her. “Morning.” Max said through a yawn as she stretched out on the bed.

“Morning" Chloe replied, turning back to her computer. The tapping sound continued as she got back to work.

“What are you doing?” Max asked, getting off the bed.

“Research" Chloe stated. Max walked over to the desk and glanced over Chloe’s shoulder at the screen. She was flicking through news articles from months ago. “Remember when the lighthouse collapsed and Alex told us Jane Doe paid to reinforce it?” Max nodded, “When he said the name it sounded familiar but I couldn’t remember from where.” Max gave her a look, she sighed, “I know Jane Doe is the standard name to use for a woman when you don’t know their real name. But it also reminded me of something else. From before Rach...” She hesitated for a second, “ before Rachel disappeared.”

“Any ideas on what it could be?” Max asked, curious.  
Chloe shook her head, “All I remember is that I saw it in the news, so that’s why I’m loo...” She paused before she finished the sentence. “Ha! That’s it!” Chloe exclaimed.

Max leaned forward to get a closer look at the article. ‘ _A woman was found dead in a motel just outside Arcadia Bay. It was apparently a robbery gone wrong. Nobody knows who she was. She checked into the motel under the name Jane Doe._ ’

“Woah. Do you think it has anything to do with...?” before Max could finish the question, Chloe had already opened a new tab and found an article about the lighthouse restoration.

“The donation was made to the lighthouse two days before the body was found at the motel.” Chloe said after she compared the dates, “It's possible its the same person! I don’t how it helps, but at least we know what could’ve happened to Jane Doe”

Max nodded, trying to use the new information to somehow tie everything together. Unfortunately she couldn’t make any connections. An amazing smell reached Max’s nose bringing her out of her thoughts, and making her stomach rumble.

Chloe chuckled, “I’ll go see if mom wants any help with breakfast.” She smiled as she turned her laptop off and left the room.

Max walked over to the bags of her clothes and decided to change out of what she’d worn the previous day and then slept in. She put on clean clothes and pulled on her shoes, heading downstairs.

“Just in time Max.” Joyce smiled as she put two plates of pancakes down on the dining table, Chloe had already taken her usual seat.

“Thanks Joyce.” Max said, taking her seat at the table. She glanced across to see Chloe was already half finished, she and Joyce chuckled as they watched Chloe wolf down her breakfast. Max’s stomach rumbled, prompting her to dig into her own breakfast. Joyce stepped away from the table with a smile on her face, she left the room, heading upstairs.

“So, how likely do you think it is that these two Jane’s are the same person?” Chloe asked after she finished eating.

“I don’t know, it fits the timeframe but it could just be a coincidence. It might be useful information later on, but it doesn’t really add to what we know at the moment. So I don’t think it really matters either way at this point.” Max explained. Chloe nodded, she had a thoughtful expression on her face, thinking through what Max had said.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Chloe said, “here.” She got up from her seat and gathered their empty plates together. Max got up and followed her into the kitchen. They started to wash the plates when Joyce came down the stairs in her Two Whales uniform. She smiled at the two of them.

“I’ll see you two later okay?” Joyce said as she stepped out the door, heading to work at the diner.

“So what should we do today?” Max asked, helping Chloe finish washing up.

Chloe looked up at Max, “Ever since we found out Rachel could still be alive, I’ve been thinking about checking out the junkyard. See if we can find something that will tell us more about what’s going on.” She replied.

“Okay, but I doubt we’ll find anything, since the cops would have searched the area.” Max said.

Chloe sighed, “I know, but they might have missed something.”

“Sure,” She nodded, “Do you want to go now?” She asked, stepping away from the sink.

Chloe nodded, already heading for the door, Max followed close behind. The pair left the house, Chloe locking the door behind her and they began their short walk to the junkyard.

* * *

 

  
“I completely forgot how far away this place really is.” Chloe stated. The two girls had been walking for a while, they’d finally got to the junkyard.

Max chuckled, “I bet you can’t wait to get your truck back.” They walked past the spot Chloe would have usually parked her truck.

Chloe nodded, “It takes way too long to get anywhere without it.” She whined. Max chuckled.

Not far into the junkyard, they came across police tape that had been used as a barrier around the area the body had been found. It had already been torn in some places and other parts simply lay in the dirt.

Chloe and Max stepped past the tape and continued around the corner to where they knew the body had been. The closer they got, the more Chloe tensed up. Max grabbed her right hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, helping her relax a little.

They reached what was left of the grave, there was still the faint stench of a rotting corpse, even though the body had been removed days ago. The shallow grave had already gathered a small collection of litter and needles.

As they stood over the small pit, Chloe’s hand began to tremble. Max glanced up to see a lone tear run down her cheek, she reached up with her right hand and wiped it away. Standing on tip toes, she leaned in and left a small kiss where the tear had been.

“It’s okay, we know that it wasn’t Rachel. Sean told us she was safe.” Max said, trying to help her girlfriend calm down.

After a few moments, Chloe had stopped trembling and was more relaxed. She turned to face Max with a smile. “Thanks, I...Holy shit.” She muttered, looking over Max’s shoulder. Max turned around and froze.

Standing right next to them was none other than the ghost doe. ‘ _Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting it to show up again. At least I know I’m not going insane, since Chloe can apparently see it too._ ’ It stayed completely still, staring at them for a while, then it turned around. The doe began to walk away, moving at a relatively slow pace. ‘ _Maybe it wants us to follow it. To lead us somewhere or show us something._ ’

Max began to follow it, pulling Chloe along by her hand. They were lead by the doe to the woods at the back of the junkyard. After entering the woods, the girls followed the doe for a few more minutes, until they reached a small clearing. The doe then turned back to look at them again and it faded away.

“So... That was normal.” Chloe stated, “Why did it lead us here?”

In the middle of the clearing they were now standing in, was a large green tent. It took up most of the space in the small clearing and from the design of the tent, it was clear there were multiple sections inside. It was most definitely designed for a group of people.

“I don’t know. Who do you think would put up a tent this big out here? And why?” Max asked.

They both tensed up. Max could hear footsteps approaching from behind. Fast. Someone was charging at them. She raised her right arm on instinct and was ready to rewind.

“Hey!”

 _Smack_.

 _Thud_.

Chloe was on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Feel free to leave kudos and comments!


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